


Fugitive

by Kuma_Kun



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M, High School AU, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-01-18 22:22:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1444987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuma_Kun/pseuds/Kuma_Kun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fugitive is a game that's been popular latey at Trost High, especially among a certain group of friends. The rules of the game were pretty simple. It was basically like a adult version of hide and go seek. You needed a group of around 10 to 20 people. You had drivers, gunners, and runners. There were usually around 2 drivers and a gunner for each person and everyone else was a runner. The point of the game was to get from one place to the predetermined location without getting caught by the drivers and of course you had to get there on foot and by the time limit, which usually ranged from an hour to an hour and a half. <br/>Jean Kirstein was especially great at playing fugitive. Everyone else would be pissed at him by the end of the game but that didn't mean he wasn't good at it. Although he was good at being a runner, his skill level couldn't be compared to when it came to driving. He and Eren Jaeger would always compete to see who could catch more runners.<br/>But tonight was different. Of all the days that he had to send his car in for maintenance it had to be today. He wasn't pissed at his parents but he felt empty without his car and his confidence fell since he had no choice but to be a runner now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jean/Marco is my favorite pairing and they're pretty cute so I've wanted to write about them for a while now. High school is pretty awful and it doesn't help if you're in your junior year and you're stressing about grades and college entrance exams. This story covers the daily life of Marco and Jean as they struggle through the rest of high school and through their awkward relationship. A lot of thing they experience in the hell called high school is pretty realistic since at times, I speak from experience.

'Fuck. Of course it had to be today. Dammit there is no way that I'm gonna get caught by Jaeger. No fucking way.' Jean sighed deeply as he rubbed his temples. Reiner was suppose to come pick him up in a couple of minutes since he wasn't about to have his parents of all people drive him to the park. His parents halfway knew about what they were doing but at most, they only knew that he would be out till late at night and he would be exercising the whole night. 

 

Jean's phone lit up, signaling that Reiner was in front if his house, waiting for him. He slipped on his hoodie and shoved his wallet and phone into his pockets and shouted a half hearted, "I'm going out, bye!" to his parents before walking out the front door. 

Reiner was waiting in the car for him, his music making it hard to hear Jean's greeting, but he nodded in response anyway. He got into the car, grinning at Reiner's choice in music. 

As Reiner sped off towards the meet up location, which happened to be the park, the two sang loudly, not caring that they were amazingly out of tune. 

Once they reached the park, both of them stepped out of the car and walked towards the small group of people huddled around Eren's truck. 

"Hey, you guys are finally here." 

"Shut it, Jaeger." Jean grumbled. 

Reiner snorted at the two. "So are we the last ones or are we waiting for more people? Seems kind of small tonight."

A short, blonde girl with her hair up - Annie - walked towards Reiner, while speaking, "We're still waiting for Connie who said he was picking up someone and Sasha said she was on her way too. Apparently Erwin, Levi, and Hanji are back this weekend from college so they'll be joining us too." 

"Ah okay." Reiner nodded. 

Jean scanned the group. Eren, Mikasa, Reiner, Bert, Annie, Armin, Ymir, Krista, and himself. So a total of 15 would be attending tonight. 

They idly chatted for the next 15 minutes as more people showed up. The only one still not here was Connie. 

"Where the hell is Connie? It's already 9, we need to start soon if we want to play 2 rounds." Jean complained. 

Another 5 minutes passed before they saw a small car pull into the parking lot of the park. Connie's figure was recognizable as he got out of the car but Jean had no idea who the other person who got out from the car was. And apparently neither did anyone else because they started to call out to Connie, whistling and hooting.

"Is that a girl Connie?"

"Damn Connie." 

"Wow, who the hell did you bring?"

Connie laughed, "Guys, it's Marco. Mikasa, you, Eren and Armin know him right? I thought it would be fun to invite him so I did. He's definitely not a girl though, sorry." 

As Connie and Marco walked closer to them, Jean could tell that he most definitely was not a girl. Marco was a bit taller than Jean and had a shit ton of freckles. Other than that Jean didn't notice much that stood out other than the fact that Marco was blushing like a virgin and was tugging on his dark brown hair like he wanted to cover his face. 

Though it was the first time Jean had even seen Marco, some others in the group knew him, and it seemed like he was even friends with the returning seniors. 

They quickly settled on the drivers and gunners so the remaining 11 runners began to pair up since it was easier to move alone or in pairs or you would get caught pretty easily. The destination was their high school which was on the other side of town. But, the good thing was that there were about 10 different ways to get there. 

Reiner, Bert, and Annie formed a group, Sasha and Connie paired, Armin and Hanji decided to go solo, and Ymir and Christa were a pair. Jean had been planning on going solo except he was pretty sure that Marco was staring at Jean intently. Jean turned his head to look at Marco. 

"It's your first time playing isn't it? I was uh planning on going alone, but if you want we can go together?" 

Marco instantly looked relieved and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." 

Jean grunted in response. 

"Hey! We'll be gracious and give the runner a 5 minute head start so start running." 

Half of the runners had taken off before before Eren finished his sentence. Jean hurriedly motioned for Marco to follow him before they sprinted into the woods next to the park. 

By the time they reached the river, Marco was out of breath and even Jean was panting. The slowed down and walked onto the bridge and sat down to catch their breath. 

"Um, what should we do now? Marco asked quietly. 

 

Jean held up a finger so he could have a moment to catch his breath. 

" I'm thinking we can continue to cut through the woods before going into the neighborhood that's right by the high school since one of the exits are right by the front door of the school. Sound good?"

Marco nodded and got up, dusting himself off and taking a deep breath. In all honesty, Marco wasn't planning to do much since it was a Friday night so he figured he would stay home and read or go to sleep early, but no Connie insisted that he hang out with everyone else. For gods sake, Marco didn't even know everyone else that well, not to mention he was not stuck in the woods alone with a guy whose name he didn't even know. Perfect. 

Marco wasn't that fond of running and honestly, running around the town at night, while cars chased you seemed a bit dangerous and too exciting for Marco. Then again this is the first time he's gotten invited to anything like this so he figured it couldn't hurt. But man, was he wrong. It was cold outside without a jacket, which of course he didn't have, and he was already tired. The rest of this was going to rough. 

Jean got up as well, brushing off the dirt on his butt and turning to Marco. 

"Let's get going." 

As they quietly made their way through the woods, Marco debated whether he should ask for the guy's name. 

"U-uh er....... " Marco stuttered. 

"What?" Jean huffed. It was bad enough he didn't have his car, he had to be a runner, and now he was stuck with this dorky looking guy that he didn't know. 

"Sorry. I just wanted to um introduce myself I guess? I mean you probably know my name from earlier but I don't know yours and I just wasn't sure how I should ask you and oh god sorry I'm really just bad at talking to people..." He babbled. 

Jean was glad that it was dark because Marco wouldn't be able to see him rolling his eyes. Jesus, is this guy trying to make small talk with him? Pathetic. He should be focusing on the game.  
"My name is Jean." His answer was short and they both fell silent after that. 

 

20 minutes into the game, Marco started to run out of breath. Their time limit was an hour so they still have over half the time left but Marco wasn't sure how much longer he could run for. His legs started to slow down until he was a couple feet behind Jean. 

"Hey," Marco panted, "you can go on ahead, I'm out of breath so.." 

Jean came to a half and rolled his eyes once again. "Come on dude, we're like halfway there already." 

Marco smiled weakly, "Oh... Well even then I don't know much much longer I can run so it's okay if you go ahead. I really don't mind." He shrugged.

Jean sighed and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. It was march and it got incredibly cold during the night but running around was more than enough to make you sweat. 

"Fine. But if you get lost and start crying that's not my fault." He retorted and turned his back to Marco as he started to move. 

Once Jean was out of sight, Marco felt relieved. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Jean intimidated him, and made him feel nervous. He couldn't see what Jean looked like since it was dark so the only thing that really stood out what his muscular build and weird hair. 

Marco was lost in thought about Jean, who he couldn't tell was nice or not since he did make sure Madco wasn't alone but seemed like he was annoyed by him. Suddenly, from his left he heard rustling and he nearly shrieked as he was tackled to the ground. 

"I caught one!"

It was Connie. Marco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in and glared at Connie. 

Connie simply shrugged. "Sorry man, but we saw a figure in the woods from the car, and the point of the game is to catch you guys so." (There's a road right next to the forest.) 

"I thought you were a runner too though?" 

"Mmmm yeah, but I got caught earlier so now I'm going around with Eren catching other runners." He explained. 

"Oh okay... So do I join you guys now?" 

Connie scratched he back of his head. "Actually there's no more space in the car..... So do you think you can wait here until the game ends and then we'll come pick you up?"

Marco wasn't too enthusiastic about having to stay by himself in the woods. At night. When it was freezing. 

The two of them heard someone calling Connie's name from the car and Connie looked apologetic as he got up, "We'll come back for you as soon as we're done. I just got a text from Ymir that there's only one other person that hasn't reached the goal or been caught yet so..." 

Marco nodded, "Its okay, I can wait. Just text me." 

"Okay, I will." With that, Connie left and Marco was alone once again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I know that it's super slow right now but I promise it'll pick up in a bit. If you have any comments or feedback about the plot or writing please feel free to leave a message.

Marco was hunched over, shivering cold and miserable. More than 30 minutes have passed since Connie had 'caught' him and there was no call or text from Connie and it didn't seem like he was coming back anytime soon either. He kept on checking his phone for messages, but nothing showed up. It was well past 10 now and his battery was starting to die. 

Rubbing his arms, he got up from the forest floor and sniffled as he started to walk towards his house. His house wasn't too far away from here but it was still a pain to walk all the home. Well it's not as if he had any other choice so he kept his complaints in and walked quietly. If he hadn't been Jean's partner this probably wouldn't have happened. Besides what kind of asshole would just leave a first time player in the goddamn woods. Marco concluded that Jean was either incredibly stupid or was a douchebag. 

Meanwhile, Connie and the others had decided that they would all go back to the original meeting location so they could pick up their cars and go to IHOP to eat. By this time, Connie had obviously forgotten about Marco and Jean simply assumed that Marco had made it or had been caught by the drivers. However, once they reached ihop and everyone was seated, Jean realized that Marco was no where to be seen. 

He cleared his throat and turned to Connie, who was sitting in between Jean and Sasha.   
"Springer, where did that freckled kid go?" He asked in a low voice. 

The look of horror and realization bloomed on Connie's face. He whipped his face towards Jean and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the right words. "Oh god.... I- oh my god. Shit, god I can't believe...." Connie's head dropped into his hands, " fuck I cannot believe I forgot about him." He groaned. "Marco is never going to forgive me for this. Dammit." 

Connie pulled his phone out and started to dial Marco's number and held the phone up to his ear. Marco didn't pick up so Connie furiously typed out an apology. 

"JEAGER!!!" Connie shouted from across the table and Eren visibly flinched from the sudden call. "You know that runner that we couldn't pick up because your damn car didn't have anymore space? Yeah, well we still haven't picked him back up and now he's probably freezing his ass off in the woods alone. You're gonna help me look for him. Let's go." 

Eren looked shocked and also confused. "Who was the runner?"

"It was the freckled kid....." Jean said quietly. 

At the mention of Marco, Levi and Erwin's ears perked up and Levi turned around to squint his eyes at the three of them.   
"You left Marco in the woods and forgot about him?" He hissed. 

If there was one thing everyone was afraid of, it was a angry Levi. The only thing that crossed their minds then was 'fuck.' 

The three of them collectively got up and all of them stuttered something about immediately going out and looking for Marco until they found him. 

A string of curses left Jean's mouth as he stepped out of IHOP with Eren and Connie.

'I'm actually a complete asshole and now that kid isn't gonna forgive me.' Jean thought. 'Not that I should care because I don't even know him but still...' 

The trio drove around the roads near the woods and even got out a couple times and went into the woods. Connie was constantly calling Marco but there wasn't a single answer from him. Little did they know Marco had reached his house by then and was soaking in his bathtub to warm up. He really didn't want to get sick but he could feel a headache and knew he would need to rest all of tomorrow. He could hear his phone ringing in his bedroom but decided that it could wait and he would answer it when he got out. 

 

Sometimes Marco felt left out of many things and that he was behind everyone. But then he remembers that he was kinda invisible so it didn't matter that much anyway. It wasn't like he had a super close friend and he didn't have that many friends in general so he would go to college alone and it would be a repeat of high school. At times it was sad since ever since he was small he had moved around often, making it hard for Marco to have a long time friendship, and unlike many of the people that he knew at school he didn't have a childhood friend and he didn't know his classmates like they knew each other. So of course Marco was that one friend because he don’t know everyone well enough. Marco was the one who gets left out of stuff that’s going on and would find out about something weeks later. He's that friend that sometimes gets invited to things because by some miracle someone remembered. He's that friend that gets cut off in the middle of a sentence or story because someone else starts talking. He's the friend that gets forgotten about because he doesn't fit in and didn't have a place to fit in. He was that friend and always would be. And despite all that, sometimes he didn't mind it because that means he was free to not care about anything for a while and be alone and do what he wanted. Sometimes that isolation is really nice. And sometimes it’s just lonely.

 

There were 8 missed calls and 17 texts from Connie by the time he got out his bath. Marco didn't really feel like talking to Connie but he needed to tell him that he was home. Right then, there was an incoming call from Connie, which Marco reluctantly picked up. 

"........"

"Dude I am so sorry. I cannot believe that I just left you out in the cold like that, I'm so so sorry. Man, I don't even know how to make this up to you. If there's anything I can do please tell me, I'm just really sorry...." Connie was obviously panicking. 

Marco sighed, "It's fine.... It happens. I'm already home so I guess I'll just see you at school Monday. Bye." Marco hung up quickly because he knew that the more he talked to other people and thought about how they just forgot about him he would start crying. So instead he curled up in his blankets and closed his eyes. 

While Marco struggled to sleep, Connie, Eren, and Jean drove back to the IHOP, all of them feeling incredibly guilty since the only way that Marco could have gotten home was walking back. 

"Shit.... I suck...." Jean muttered to himself in the car. 

Connie was aware of how much Levi and Erwin doted on Marco so he was prepared to get torn in half when he walked in, but as for the other two.... That was a different story. 

Sure enough, when they walked back to the table Levi was glaring at them.  
"Where the fuck is Marco?" Levi growled. 

Connie swallowed hard, his words getting stuck in his throat. "U-um it turns that he uh went home...."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Oh so you drove him home? Or did his parents pick him up?" 

"Well we couldn't find him and his parents are gone on a business trip for the next week so .... He probably walked home?" Connie immediately regretted being the one who was explaining and internally swore that he would never ever forget Marco again. It was bad enough that he felt guilty and now he was being interrogated by Levi. 

"He.walked.home?" Levi spat out each word and Connie could only nod weakly. Levi ran his hand through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh. "You three need to apologize to him. Tomorrow. Got it? I will personally kick your asses if you don't go apologize. He doesn't have to forgive you but until you're on good terms with him, you better believe that I'll be breathing down your necks." He snapped. 

"What!? Why the hell do I have to apologize? I didn't do anything wrong, I was only driving. If anything this is all Jean's fault. He's the one who just went ahead and left Marco alone." Eren whined. 

Levi shot Eren a glare. "I don't care. All of you are equally guilty. Connie, you shouldn't have forgotten and left him there, Eren you shouldn't have stopped to pick up more runners if you didn't have space in your car, and Jean, I don't know what the fuck you were thinking leaving a first time player like that alone in the woods. Idiots all of you." 

This made Eren shut up and sink into seat. At the least, Connie knew that he would be forgiven since Marco was too nice so he didn't worry too much, while on the other hand, Jean felt like he was about to pass out. Technically none of this would have happened if Jean hadn't just left him there so out of the three, he was the most guilty. 

 

'What if he doesn't accept my apology. Moreover even if he does how am I going to be on good terms with him!? Am I suppose to hang out with him or something? But he looks so boring and nerdy. Dammit Jean. You're officially a dumbass.' Jean thought before he fell asleep that night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for anyone who is reading this. I truly appreciate it since I was almost certain no one would read it. I hope that you all enjoy the story and if you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to tell me! Thank you.

Just like Marco had predicted, he woke up with a dull ache in his head and his body felt heavy. He didn't feel absolutely awful but he wasn't planning on moving around much today. 

Marco didn't bother checking his phone because he knew there wouldn't be any messages. He rolled over in his bed, pulling the blankets closer and hiding his face. 

Slowly but surely, Marco's breathing evened out and he began to drift off, enjoying the peace and quiet. However his peace was short lived and he was disturbed by the shrill sound of his doorbell. He groaned and had the strongest urge to just ignore whoever was at his door and go back to sleep but judging by how cold his room was it was probably colder outside. Mumbling about how much he hated people, he dragged himself out of the bed but he was still wrapped up in his blankets when he opened the door. 

On one hand, Eren and Connie wanted to laugh at what Marco looked like when he opened the for them, but they didn't want to piss him off anymore than he already supposedly was so they kept it in. Coughing to stop himself from snickering at Marco who was wrapped up in his blanket with only his head sticking out, Connie was the first to speak. 

"Uh hey Marco! So we just wanted to apologize for last night. You now, about forgetting you and making you wait and all...." 

"Yeah, dude I'm really sorry about that. If there's anything we can do to make it up, don't hesitate to tell us." Eren added. 

Needless to say, Marco was surprised not only at the sudden visit but also at the apology. He wasn't too sure why they thought he was mad, I mean he was on some level but it didn't mean that they had to come all the way to his house. He would have eventually forgiven them since he knows Connie and Eren didn't do it on purpose and didn't mean any harm.

Marco smiled meekly, "Oh it's alright. I don't mind, really. It's fine..." He fidgeted with his blanket. 

"O-oh really? Well okay. I mean we still wanted to apologize though since it was a dick move and all."

Marco nodded understandingly. 

"Well, we'll let you go back to sleep. Sorry for bothering you, and we're having a birthday dinner for Eren this next Friday but would you be down to go? We still haven't decided a time or place but so far, we're trying to see who all wants to go." 

"Sure, I'll go." It wouldn't hurt to go right?

"Alright cool, I'll text you later then. See ya!" Connie waved as he started to walk to his car and Eren gave a small nod before leaving as well.

Though he liked his friends, Marco was relieved when they left because it meant that he could go back to sleep. He trudged back up the stairs and fell onto his bed, curling up and deciding to ignore everything for the rest of the day. Homework and studying could wait until Sunday night. 

 

For the first time in about a month, he felt relaxed and comfortable. Lately the stress was causing him to sleep less and the amount of homework he had wasn't helping either. The tutoring sessions for SAT and ACT were grueling and he was completely ready to be done. Being a junior in high school sucked and he wanted to be done as soon as possible. Band was a pain too with all the rehearsals for UIL and Marco knew that he was going to have to start going to Japanese school on Saturdays again soon since he planned to apply to some colleges near his grandmother's house. The thought of Japanese school was enough to make him anxious and sick. There was too much for him to do and not enough time, not to mention he didn't have the energy either. So honestly, he loved his parents but with them being gone for a week it gave him some quiet alone time and he was grateful because now he would be able to sleep in for the whole day. 

 

He woke up once at noon and he knew that because he checked his phone before tossing it to the other side of the room and going back to sleep. At 3 in the afternoon, he woke up again, but not because he just happened to wake up, it was because he heard the sound of the doorbell ringing through his house for the second time that day. Marco was still half asleep and had no intentions of getting up or answering the door. The ringing stopped after a few moments but then a persistent knock on the door followed, causing him to bury himself under the blankets to block out the sound, which let's be honest, it didn't help that much. 

 

The usually calm and docile Marco was just about ready to murder the idiot who dared disturb him but he felt too drained of energy and lazy to move so he opted for waiting until the sounds stopped. Which of course they eventually did after another couple moments of annoyance. 

Marco didn't give a second thought about going back to sleep once it quieted down and he was glad he did because when he woke up at around 6:30 he felt a lot better than he had this morning. He figured he should get up and take a shower at the least and go downstairs to eat some soup. Yawning, he stretched out on the bed before slowly getting up and heading towards the shower. 

While Marco took a warm shower, Jean Kirstein stood outside his house, half freezing to death and half already dead. He got a text from Connie in the morning telling him that he and Eren and already apologized and been forgiven and that Jean would probably be okay so he should just get it out of the way. So once he got his car back from the shop, he made his way to the address Levi gave him and rang the doorbell, and when that didn't work, he started to knock but there was no answer. It was now 6:30 and Jean was starting to get worried that Marco had killed himself or something. He sure as hell hoped that he wasn't used to this kind of shit or that he had been bullied in the past and this was the event to set him off. He had been knocking or ringing the doorbell every 20 minutes or so but there was no answer. Jean had been waiting it out in his cold car and even though he had his car, he didn't want to waste the gas so he kept the engine off. 

 

He got unexplainably relieved when a couple lights on the second floor turned on. Well at least Marco was still alive and it wasn't Jean's fault that he was dead. He stood in front of the front door and rang the doorbell for what seemed like the hundredth time. No answer. Nothing. Not a peep or a rustle. Nada. 

Now, at this point Jean was ready to leave and just come back tomorrow, but by some chance, Marco had heard the doorbell right as he got out of the shower. Marco quickly pulled on a shirt and sweatpants and rushed down the stairs, ignoring how his head still throbbed when he moved around too much. He yanked the door open, breathless and hair still wet. And god, did he wish that he didn't. 

 

Standing in front of him was none other than the douchebag and the root of all his misery. It was in characteristic for Marco to hold grudges, be angry, or be mean, but let's face it, Jean Kirstein was an exception. The guy after all did leave Marco without another thought and was kind of a ass, plus he knew that he was a dick to others at times too since he had heard the rumors. 

Squinting at him accusingly Marco grumbled, "What do you want?"

Jean was taken back at the hostile tone and facial expression. Wasn't this guy suppose to be super nice and forgiving? 

"Look, I just came to say that I'm really sorry for last night and that uh you can somehow find it in you to forgive me so we can be cool." Jean scratched the back of his head nervously. If he messed this up and Marco continued to be angry at him, he knew that he would getting a ass whooping from Levi. He almost shuddered at the thought but Marco's answer stopped him. 

"Ok. Well it's whatever. I don't really care that much anyway." 

Jean's jaw almost dropped and he was oh so relieved. Now he wouldn't have to worry about his ass. 

"Oh really? Man, thanks, I'm so glad. Now I won't get killed by Levi. I mean you know how scary he is so. Anyways okay, wow that's great. I'm so glad you aren't mad at me." 

Marco didn't particularly feel like talking, associating, or standing by Jean so he figured that if he just accepted the apology then he would go away and all would be peaceful once again. Except for the fact that he definitely did not just mishear what Jean said. And now it was all suddenly clear why Jean actually came to his house to apologize. It was because Levi probably threatened him. He really appreciated Levi looking out for him, but the insincerity of Jean became even clearer and Marco felt his anger rising. 

"Go the hell home." He spat. 

"What?" Jean looked genuinely confused. 

"I said go home. I don't need your pity apology and I certainly don't need for you to come to my house and give me a fake apology because you're so afraid of getting beat up for being an asshole! Just because I listened to your stupid apology doesn't mean that I've forgiven you. Now get out of my sight." Marco hissed before slamming the door shut. 

After shutting the door he slowly went to sit on his couch and hugged his knees close to his chest to stop the empty feeling his chest from spreading to the rest of his body. His heart physically felt like it was in pain and his chest tightened up, and yet it seemed like there was a void there too. He felt empty and out of energy. It wasn't the first time that he had gotten this sensation since it's happened multiple other times. It wasn't pleasant at all and for a second he wondered if he had depression. After all, it wasn't normal of him to feel this way. But he brushed off the though and ignored it. He shouldn't be thinking that he had clinical depression just because he got sad. Many other people had it worse in comparison to him. 

Jean stood outside the door that was just slammed in his face for a couple moments. He completely just fucked everything up. Now he was in major trouble. How the hell was he suppose to fix things now?   
There was only person he knew that could help him figure this out. Unwillingly, he took out his phone and clicked on a contact and brought the phone up to his ear. 

"Hey, it's me."


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell do you want, shitty brat." Jean could almost see the disgusted look on Levi's face. 

"Well uh so I came over to Marco's house to apologize and things didn't go too smoothly and I kind of really don't want to get my ass handed to me so.... Can you please help me?" He said the last part through clenched teeth. Anyone with a pride and ego like Jean always had trouble asking for help. 

 

Levi snorted on the other end, "Ha this is gold. I didn't think you had it in you actually ask for my help." 

"Can you help me or not for being such a dick to him? I legitimately feel bad about this." He began to get impatient. 

"Fiiine. If you're that desperate." This time, Jean could definitely see Levi rolling his eyes on the other end. "Well Marco is usually the calm and collected type and he doesn't hold grudges and forgives people pretty quickly so he must hate you right now. Which is rare. And unfortunate for you because it's now that much harder for you to make it up to him. You might as well try and talk to him everyday and be nice to him and maybe he'll warm up to you eventually."

"Uh huh yeah great plan, that's totally gonna work." Jean muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me." Levi snapped. "If you don't want my help I'm hanging up."

"No no, I'm sorry. It's just that you know, will he even be willing to talk to me?" 

"Probably not at first but it wouldn't hurt to try and talk to him as much as possible and spend time with him too. Unless you have some other genius plan. You just need to show him that you aren't an asshole and that you care about him and that you're genuinely sorry." Levi explained.

"Mm... Alright thanks. Text me if you come up with anything that would help. Please." 

"Fine. You owe me Kirstein." With that, Levi hung up without giving Jean a chance to even say bye. 

Though he was still skeptical that simply being nice to Marco and talking to him often would convince him to forgive him, just as Levi said, he didn't exactly have a better plan. He sighed deeply, his breath turning white in the cold air around him. He knew there's wasn't anything he could do tonight so he decided to head home. Half way home, he received a text from Levi. Attached was Marco's phone number and also a message.

From: Levi  
To: Kirstein  
Here's Marco's number: 972-318-7652  
Also I hope you know that Marco is sick right now. Bring him ice cream and soup or something tomorrow. Have fun. 

From: Kirstein  
To: Levi  
Thank you.

 

The next morning Jean woke up around 10 am and was ready to go back to bed. But that obviously wasn't an option so he got out of bed and got ready quickly and slipped on a hoodie and a pair of jeans. Shoving his wallet and phone into his pocket he grabbed his car keys and headed over to the grocery store. 

He thought about it for a second before opening the freezer door and grabbing a gallon of vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream. Quickly walking towards the cashier he paid and hurriedly left. Needless to say he got some pretty weird looks from the other customers. A guy buying 2 gallons ice cream on a Sunday morning was kind of weird after all. 

 

On the way to Marco's house, he prayed that Marco would let him in or at least accept the ice cream. Either way, he had to be nice, patient, and polite. 

He contemplated texting Marco and giving him a heads up that he was coming but if Marco knew he was coming, there was a possibility he wouldn't open the door. 

Jean carried the heavy bag with ice cream in his right hand and rang the doorbell nervously. 

Considering that it was 11:00 am on a Sunday morning, one can only assumed how annoyed Marco was for being woken up by his annoying doorbell. He had half the mind to ignore it and let whoever outside freeze, but even when grumpy and sleepy, Marco was too nice to do something like that so he grudgingly wrapped himself up in his blankets again and shuffled down the stairs slowly. Things were kind of blurry since he didn't have his contacts or his glasses on but he knew who it was when he opened the door. The unmistakable blonde hair, buff figure, strong smell of cologne, and deep voice all belonged to Jean. 

"What." Marco was not putting up with more bullshit today. 

It was a shame that Marco couldn't properly see Jean's face since Jean had never looked so flustered or nervous. He very well knew that he couldn't fuck this up or else his ass was Levi's. Well that and the fact that he felt like trash for being a douche to someone who had only been nice and polite. The usually calm and collected people were always terrifying when they snapped and Jean didn't plan on making things worse with Marco. Not even god knows what would happen if Marco lose it. 

Jean cleared his throat before talking, "Uh good morning Marco. I heard that you weren't feeling too well so I um brought you ice cream? I mean I brought you ice cream. I don't know what flavor you liked so I just bought vanilla and chocolate. Ice cream is easy on your throat and it also lowers your temperature so...... I hope that's okay." 

Marco was tempted to slam the door in Jean's face except yesterday was the first time he had done that and he felt a bit bad afterwards even though there was no reason to. He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking of what to do. 

"Y-You don't have to let me in or anything, I just wanted to drop this off and just uh make sure you were doing okay." Jean stammered. 

 

Marco sighed, "It's fine. You can come in. I'll make you some hot chocolate. Take your shoes off though." 

Jean wanted to sit down and just laugh in relief but the hardest part was still yet to come. Just because Marco let him into the house didn't mean he was forgiven. He felt more at ease however and didn't feel so nervous, though he was still flustered when he talked to Marco, which didn't make sense because he was just a guy and it's not like he was talking to a pretty girl or something. 

Marco grabbed his glasses from the coffee table and put them on. Still wrapped up in his blanket he put the kettle on the stove and waited for the water to heat. Jean walked into the kitchen a few second later holding the bag of ice cream. 

"You can put that in the freezer." Marco said and motioned towards the fridge with his head. 

"Do you need help with anything? I mean you're wrapped up in a blanket so I just thought that um it's harder to do stuff?" Jean really needed to calm down. 

"No it's fine. You can go sit at the table." 

There was about 10 minutes of awkward silence as Marco made hot chocolate and scooped ice cream into a bowl for himself. The only time the either of spoke was when Marco asked Jean if he wanted any ice cream and Jean said no. 

 

He brought everything over to the dining table and sat down. It wasn't that he was cold or anything but he just liked being cocooned in his blankets. It made him feel secure and safe. In truth, Marco was actually kind of nervous as well. He didn't know what to expect from Jean and he just wanted to be left alone. The more alone he was, the less chance that he would be hurt again. 

 

Jean took a sip of his hot chocolate and he wished that he could disappear into nothing. This was more than awkward and the silence made his heart beat faster. Marco wasn't sure what to say either and he quietly started to eat the ice cream. 

This was the first time that Jean got a good look at Marco's face. Other than the freckles, nothing really stood out to Jean during Friday and yesterday too. But upon closer inspection he noticed that Marco's eye lashed were long and thick, and his eyes were round and a bit entrancing even though he would never admit that. He decided that Marco either spent an incredible amount of time in the sun or he was just one of those people who had an abnormal amount of freckles. It wasn't a bad thing really, it just made Jean want to count how many there were. Marco's brown soft looking hair was tousled and he had bed head. Jean noted that the glasses made Marco look nerdier but in a good way, in a more mature and refined kind of way. If he had to describe him, it was be cute or pretty. Marco was not manly by any stretch of the imagination and closely resembled a deer. Even the way that he was timidly eating his ice cream while wrapped up in his blanket could be categorized as 'cute'. 

 

Marco felt his neck heat up and could feel Jean closely watching him as he finished his ice cream. 

"Thanks for bringing me ice cream....." He said rather quietly, his fury from before dimming down as he started to feel awkward. 

"Oh yeah of course, it's the least I could do anyway. I uh kind of wanted to talk if you were willing to hear me out." 

 

"Fine. I'm haven't forgiven you or anything yet though." Marco sat back in his chair with his mug. This should be entertaining.

'Well here goes nothing.' Jean thought as he took a deep breath before speaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this and I truly apologize for the cliff hanger. I didn't have much time to write this and it's a bit short so I will be updating tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! I will update again tomorrow.

"There isn't a good excuse for what I did. And I'm really sorry. The fact stands that I am a complete asshole and you didn't deserve any of that. I feel like the worst human being ever for doing that to you. You're really nice and you're polite to everyone and during Friday you were nice to me the whole time too. I'm stupidly competitive and just generally dumb. I'll say it again and I'll say it a hundred times more because even then it won't be enough, but I'm sorry. I'm uh not sure what else I should say because like I said there's no good reason for what I did and I shouldn't make excuses for myself. Look I'm just really sorry..." Jean looked at Marco while fiddling with his mug. 

There was a long silence between the two. 

Marco looked at Jean's unwavering eyes and stared back at him, choosing his words carefully. 

"I accept your apology." 

Jean let out a sigh.

"That doesn't mean I've forgiven you though!" Marco added quickly. 

Surprisingly, Jean did not suddenly deflate. He was making progress so there wasn't anything to be upset about.

"Thanks for listening to me though." Jean smiled at Marco, truly grateful. "But uh maybe I should get going? You should probably go rest and stuff." 

 

Marco looked at the clock on the wall. "It's 12 so I can make you some lunch if you want. I'm feeling a lot better anyway so..." He wasn't really sure he wanted Jean to stay longer, but if he was really sorry then he should be able to prove that by not being a douche. 

Jean was taken back at the offer, but he wasn't one to waste such a good chance to show Marco be could be nice. 

"Yeah! I would love to." Jean said enthusiastically. 

"Great. You can help me with cooking then." Marco shook off his blanket and got up. 

Jean followed him into the kitchen and stood to the side and watched as Marco bustled around the kitchen. Instead of being useless he decided to return to the table and get the bowl and mugs and started to wash them in the sink. This whole not being hated by Marco thing was actually kind of nice. He seemed like one of those people who were super fun to hang out with when they were comfortable with you. 

Marco got out two frying pans, various vegetables, and already cooked rice. 

"You know how to make fried rice, right?" 

Jean looked up from the mugs he was wiping and nodded.

"Good. I'm going to start chopping up some stuff up and I'll put it into the frying pan so just add the rice and start cooking once you're done." He instructed.

"Alright, cool." Jean said, washing his hands and picking up the bowl of rice and headed towards the stove. 

They cooked in a comfortable silence, not like the awkward silence like before. While Jean made fried rice, Marco stood to his left, stir frying beef and vegetables. 

 

As they began to eat, Jean started some small talk, which in reality wasn't that hard. They were in the band at high school and they were even in 2nd band together, although they were in different sections. Other than band they didn't have any other classes together but despite that, they had plenty to talk about concerning school. 

Their most heated discussion was about their tyrannical band director who had been nicked named as the 'dicktator'

"Oh god have did you ever hear about the Heil Hitler story?" Marco asked, barely able to hold in his snicker. 

Jean cocked his head to the side, "What? Heil Hitler? Dude you gotta tell me!" 

"I can't believe that you of all people don't know this story! No okay well basically what happened was he gathered all the section leaders to his office and it was during 7th period so school was still going on. By coincidence a lot of people from the district was visiting that day and the principal was showing them around the whole school and they went to the band hall too. And you know how during marching season, Mr. Pixis is always yelling at us about our horn bells being 10 degrees up from level? Well he was making the leadership hold their right arm out straight 10 degrees up towards him and a bunch of administration people walked in right then." Marco barely got through the last sentence before he started to laugh and Jean was clutching his stomach and laughing as well.

"Christ, are you serious!?" 

"Yeah! I'm totally serious!" 

They continued to laugh and it took them a couple minutes to calm down. 

Wiping his watering eyes, Jean caught his breath. "Oh my god, I can't believe that actually happened." 

"Haha I know, it sounds ridiculous but knowing Pixis that probably happened." 

"Shit, I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Man my stomach hurts so much." 

The rest of their conversation was just as lively and filled with laughter. Once they finished eating and cleaning up, they moved over to the couch and talked for another good 30 minutes before they quieted down. 

"I know you haven't forgiven me yet and that's totally okay, but I want to uh talk to you or hang out with you more. You're kinda fun to be around." Jean said quietly. 

Marco raised an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me? 'Kinda fun'? I'll have you know I'm very fun to hang out with." He huffed. 

Jean raised his hands in surrender, "I'm sorry, that's what I meant." 

Marco sighed and leaned into the couch. "Ugh I have so much homework I need to do."

"Same here. History just overall sucks ass this year."

"I know! It's awful, right? I mean I know we have different teachers and all but still."

Jean nodded in agreement. He glanced at the clock hanging out the wall and shot up out of his seat. 

"Holy fuck it's 2, I gotta head home. I have 6:30 sectionals in the morning so I need to get to sleep early tonight." 

"Oh okay, sorry. Let me walk you out." 

They slowly walked towards the front door and Jean put on his shoes before stepping out. 

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" 

"Y-yeah. Drive safe." Marco smiled.

"Thanks. See ya later then." Jean gave Marco a little wave before jogging off to his car. It was cold and he really didn't want to be outside for much longer. 

Marco watched Jean drive off and retreated back into his warm house, scrunching up his nose at the cold. Truthfully, Marco actually enjoyed talking to Jean and for a while he had totally forgotten why Jean was even at his house. 

'He might still be an asshole though.' Marco scolded himself as he opened his bedroom door and walked towards him desk to start on his homework. 

 

When Jean got home in one piece, he rushed up the stairs to his room and locked his bedroom door. He really wasn't in the mood for homework and he kind of wanted to text Marco and talk to him more. After all he had his number so he could..... 

He paced around his room with his phone open to Marco's number. Did he dare?   
Hell yeah he did. 

No way was Jean going to let himself get all nervous about texting another guy for god's sake. 

To:Marco  
From:Jean  
Hey Marco! This is Jean. I got your number yesterday from Levi and I just wanted to text you to tell you that I got home safe :)

'Well this this be fine.'   
And without a second thought, Jean pressed send. 

He sat at his desk and stared at his phone for 5 minutes. His phone didn't ring or light up with a message. 5 minutes turned into 10, 10 to 30 and finally an hour had passed. 

Jean tried not to feel bad about not receiving a text. Maybe Marco just didn't have his phone around or something. Either way, he knew he shouldn't waste more time so he pulled out his laptop from his backpack next to him and began his homework.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMFG I am so sorry. So I got sick Wednesday and I just recovered so that's why I'm updating now. anyways, thank you for reading and I will update tomorrow! Also if you have any suggestions please tell me!

Monday morning was hell on earth for every high school student. Given that most all of them procrastinated on their homework till late Sunday night and some of the band students had to be up and at the school by 6:30 in the morning, Jean was not the only grumpy teen. 

He didn't get a text back last night even though he continuously checked his phone while studying. It wasn't as if he was upset that Marco didn't answer. Definitely not. But he checked his phone first thing in the morning with high hopes that there would something. Sighing loudly, Jean rolled over and got up slowly, dreading the rest of the day.

By 6:15 he reached the school and was setting up his music stand and started to warm up. He detested having morning sectionals since he just wasn't a morning person and his tone sounded awful in the mornings. Nevertheless he still showed up although grudgingly. 

All throughout sectionals, Jean's mind wandered around and he began to act out possible scenes of what would happen if he asked Marco about the text. 

'What if.... What if....' He kept on thinking. So far he had 3 options.   
1\. Not mention it at all.  
2\. Subtly slip it into conversation.  
3\. Flat out ask him whenever they saw each other. 

He was still contemplating these 3 options as he walked out of the ensemble room. Sectionals had ended 5 minutes ago and everyone was now bustling around to set up for 1st period honor band. He wasn't too eager to run into Pixis this early in the morning so he slipped into the slot room and put his trombone away before grabbing his backpack and walking out the band hall. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasha and Connie head towards the exit and he sped up his pace to catch up.

"Connie!" 

Connie turned around and slowed down so Jean could walk next to them. 

 

"Dude, did Marco forgive you and Jaeger?"

Connie gave Jean a weird look, "Yeah, of course."

 

Jean took in a deep breath before letting it out through his nose.   
"Oh okay... Well that's good." 

It took a couple of moments for Connie to realize what happened. He slapped his hand over his mouth to keep in the loud laugh. 

"Oh god I can't believe this. He didn't forgive you did he?"

"Shut up." Jean grumbled. 

 

Connie continued to laugh as they made their way down to the academic side of the school. 

"Man that's just hilarious. He must really hate you. Wow."

Jean rolled his eyes and muttered another "Shut up." Before turning the corner to walk into his first period class. 

Ah physics. There couldn't be a worse subject to be taught by an incompetent teacher. It was necessarily that Jean was bad at physics or that he didn't like it, but goddamn his teacher made him want to throw himself out a window. There weren't enough words in the English language to describe the monstrosity of this professor's teaching. It was horrendous and Jean dreaded coming to school everyday. 

Tapping his pencil on the desk, Jean sat through the class, mind wandering off to other things like what he was going to eat for lunch. I mean this was obviously more important. 

 

Second and third period passed by in a breeze and Jean was now seated at his usual lunch table, munching away on a sandwich.   
He looked up when the rest of his friends began to show up.

 

Jean was unusually quiet today but this was mostly because he was mentally and emotionally preparing himself. He had band next period with Marco and he was definitely going to talk to him. 

By the time Jean walked into the band hall, he had a unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He honestly wasn't sure why he was getting so nervous about this, for Christ's sake he was only just asking if Marco got his text. 

Jean grabbed everything he needed and he placed his trombone on his chair before going to the work room to get the mutes. 

His heart rate picked up and he could feel his heart thumping around in his chest a the sight of Marco's broad back. 

Jean cleared his throat to get Marco's attention since he was turned around. 

Marco turned around from the rack of mutes he was ransacking and to his surprise he saw Jean with a flushed face and nervous eyes. 

"Hi......" Marco said carefully. He didn't know what Jean wanted but it was weird of him to suddenly talk to him at school.

"Hey, uh I'm glad that you're better."

"Yeah, I wasn't too sick to begin with so..."

"Listen um I texted you last night and I was just wondering if you got it or if Levi gave me the wrong number of purpose..." Jean ran a hand through his hair nervously and chewed on his bottom lip. 

If Marco was in some other circumstance, he would have found Jean to be a bit sexy, but given the situation at hand he reacted properly by raising an eyebrow. 

"I might have. What of it?"

Jean winced at the edge to Marco's voice. "N-nothing. I was just you know, wondering..... "

He walked closer to the shelf to grab a stop mute and a simple black mute. 

"So do you just not text a lot?" He asked quietly. 

Marco sighed. He didn't want to be intentionally mean but he was tired, he hated school, and despite how much he enjoyed the time he spent with Jean yesterday, he was still suppose to be mad at him. 

"That's actually really none of your business." 

Jean was taken back at the hostile tone. "Sorry. And yeah I know, I'm just trying to talk to you, jeez. Besides people usually reply to texts to be polite." 

Marco was about to turn around to walk out of the work room but he froze. 

"Excuse me?"

"Look I'm just saying that you could've like I don't know texted back or something. Even if it was this morning.... I was kind of waiting for you to um text back last night because I liked talking to you yesterday." 

Marco scoffed.   
"You are the last person that should be talking to me about being polite Mr. I-abandon-people-in-the-middle-of-a-forest. I didn't have my phone with me upstairs last night since I left it downstairs. But for future reference I'll have you know I only text my friends. You aren't my friend or acquaintance or anything. I have no obligation to text you back. "

Jean became silent and he looked away from Marco who was already walking away. His head pounded and he wasn't sure what to think. 

He felt stupid for wasting his chance to talk to him and mentally screamed at himself. This just meant that they were back at square one.

Throughout all of 4th period, Jean stared at the back of Marco's head and Marco felt the intense look from him but did not turn around to look. Jean took out his phone and began to type a message with one hand. He was incredibly impatient and there was no way that he could just wait until the end of the period to resolve this. 

To: Marco   
From: Jean  
Marco.... I'm really sorry. I know I fucked things up again even though we hung out and everything yesterday. and I'm just really really sorry. I like you and I just wanted to talk to you more. Honest to god, I'm not lying or anything. 

Jean carefully watched Marco as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and read the message. He wasn't expecting Marco to reply so he wasn't surprised when he simply put his phone on the stand. 

To: Marco  
From: Jean  
You're really nice and sweet and you're funny and I just really like talking to you. And I really want to be friends with you too. 

To: Marco   
From: Jean   
Marco, please? I really want for us to be friends. You don't have to forgive me or anything but can we restart? Please?

To: Marco   
From: Jean   
Marco~~~  
Really though, consider it at least? Pleaaassseeeee

To: Marco   
From: Jean   
Babe.

 

To: Marco   
From: Jean   
Babe.  
Babe please.

 

To: Marco   
From: Jean   
Babe

To: Marco   
From: Jean   
Marco I swear to god I will do anything to make everything up to you. You know how sorry I am and I'm not asking for forgiveness because I don't deserve it after what I did but please there's nothing more that I want than being friends with you and talking to you everyday and seeing you more. 

Marco's face was red by the 3rd text so one can only imagine the color of his face when he read the last one. He didn't like being mad at someone and Jean was making it pretty hard. I mean was he an asshole? Yeah. But was he trying really hard? Yeah. 

To: Jean  
From: Marco  
Fine.

 

Marco decided that if Jean's nice side didn't waver and if Jean talked to him everyday for a while, then it would prove his sincerity and it wouldn't hurt to forgive him ..... right?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!!! I will update again tomorrow^.^

The next two weeks and a half consisted of Jean memorizing Marco's schedule and learning which hallways he used to get to his next class so he could talk to him during passing periods and late night conversations over the phone. Every morning Jean would text Marco awake and Jean was the first and last person he talked to everyday. 

In the beginning, Marco was reluctant to talk to Jean but he eventually warmed up to him since he had no other choice. Jean would talk to him every single chance he got and he went as far as creating excuses just to see him.

In a sense Marco appreciated Jean talking to him since it distracted him from his usual boredom and loneliness. It was hard to believe that they had gotten this close, considering everything that had happened and the fact that they never really talked much to start with. But now, it seemed as if they would never run out of things to talk about. During this time, they learned so much about each other and surprisingly, Marco shared things about himself that he had never told anyone, and it was the same with Jean as well. Jean knew Marco better than anyone else and Marco knew Jean better than anyone else. 

They would sit together at lunch and would go out of their way to see the other or to talk with them. The weekends were spent at one of their houses and they would play video games for hours on end before Marco gave up trying to win and would coerce Jean into studying with him. Jean would always stare at Marco whenever he had glasses on and Marco would tease him for that. It wasn't as if Marco disliked being stared at, but he knew that he would eventually start blushing and he didn't want Jean to get the wrong idea. 

 

If Marco had to be honest, he really liked Jean and enjoyed every single conversation they had. The two of them often lost track of time when they talked, and before either one of them realized, it would be around 2 in the morning. But that was okay since Marco would sleep on Jean's lap in the morning when they waited for school to start. 

 

Tonight was the same too. Marco had just gotten home after "studying" with Jean at Starbucks. They had been going to Starbucks or some other coffee shop after school for the last couple of days to study together, but it was mostly Marco trying to seriously study and Jean slacking off and not understanding the material. 

His phone rang as soon as he stepped inside his house. 

"Hello?"

"Hey..."

Marco laughed lightly. "Jean? I just got inside the house. Did I forget something?"

Jean was still inside his car which was parked outside of Marco's house since he had just dropped him off. 

"I miss you already?" Jean chuckled nervously. 

Marco rolled his eyes and put down his stuff on the bench by the front door. Grinning, he opened the door to look at Jean, who he could see from his door. 

Jean smiled when Marco opened the door. He ended the call and stepped out of his car and headed towards Marco. 

"Sorry, I just didn't want to go home just yet....and I didn't even give you a proper goodbye...." He said sheepishly. 

Marco ushered him inside to save him from the cold and looked at him understandingly. "It's okay, no one is home anyways." 

"Thanks..." Jean let out a breath and leaned his head on Marco's shoulder. "Really, thanks."

Marco patted his hair, "Mhm of course. I mean I'm not your friend for nothing."

There was a significant amount of time before Jean spoke and Marco became nervous during that time since he started to think that what he said was well, not okay. 

"...... Y-you're my friend?" Jean asked quietly, pulling away from Marco's shoulder. 

"Um yes?" 

"Really? Do you really mean it? Are we?" Jean looked into Marco's eyes as if he would be able to see if he lied. 

Marco swallowed nervously and nodded vigorously. "Yeah. We are." 

Jean's lower lip quivered and he smushed Marco into a hug. He let out a sigh and tightened his grip around Marco. 

Marco cautiously put his arm's around Jean before asking if he was alright. Jean simply nodded and they stayed like that for a whole before Marco started to feel awkward and he suggested that they go sit on his couch. 

Once they were on his couch, Jean pressed his hands to his face and was quiet for a while, but eventually spoke. 

"Sorry..."

"Hm? Oh no it's okay." 

Jean's hands came off his face and they were now resting on his lap. 

"It's just... These last two weeks or so have been amazing. This is literally the first time I've ever been so close to anyone and to just hear you say that we were friends makes me so relieved because because.... Because I was worried ya know? I was so damn worried that you weren't ever going to forgive me and I just don't know if I can deal with that. Cuz you're just really easy to talk to and I feel at ease around you and and yeah....I just really fucking like you because you're such a great person......" Jean's cheeks went warm when he realized how embarrassing he must have sounded. He looked down so he wouldn't have to face Marco or be laughed. 

"Jean. I actually forgave you a while ago. I mean yeah, you were an asshole but you've really proven to me that you're actually nice. I like talking with you a lot too and it's pretty amazing how close we are now, yeah?"

"Y-yeah." 

"Look, I really trust you and I've come to like you a lot too. So yeah, I hope that we're friends by now." Marco placed a comforting hand on Jean's back and gently smiled at him. 

Jean looked at Marco's smile and wished that he didn't because, well, Jean's face was now bright red. 

"Thanks.... For forgiving me I mean. And being my friend too I guess. I mean I know I don't deserve it so I'm just really glad..."

 

Marco's smiled widened. "Of course. You really are nice though so I'm glad that I got to know you."

Marco stood up and held his hand out for Jean to take, which he did without hesitation. 

"Sorry for wasting you time.." Jean mumbled as he walked towards the door with Marco behind him. 

Marco shook his head before realizing that Jean couldn't see him. "No, it's okay, I'm glad we had that talk. And I want you to stay longer but you should head home since it's getting late."

 

Jean felt elated that Marco wanted him to stay and was going to say that he would except he has a test that he should actually study for since he couldn't afford to fail the class. The two of them hugged at the doorway and Jean squeezed Marco tightly before letting go. 

"You better text me once you get home." Marco threatened jokingly. 

"I will, I will. Don't worry." Jean said as he opened the door, letting in a cold gust of wind. 

Marco shivered and pulled Jean back into the house when he saw that he was only in a t-shirt. 

"Wait one second." Marco ordered and rushed up to his room to grab one of his warm hoodies. He handed the hoodie to Jean and Jean looked puzzled. 

"I have a jacket in my car so I'll be fine."

"No you won't, you'll probably get in your car and be too lazy to put it on, and you'll be cold on the way to the car."

"But---"

"No buts!!" 

Jean groaned but slipped his hoodie on anyways before crushing Marco in another hug and saying goodbye once again. 

Marco waved at Jean who was driving off from his front door and once he was out of sight, he retreated back to his warm house.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super short so I will probably update again tonight. Thank you so much for reading and please tell me if you have any suggestions!

After Jean left his house, Marco used this good chance to take a quick shower since Jean complained when he had to hang up in order to go take a quick shower. 

He knew that it only took about 8 minutes for Jean to drive back to his house so there would be a text waiting for him once he got out of the shower. 

To: Marco  
From : Jean   
God, I have so much hw to do. 

To: Marco   
From : Jean  
Marcoooooo~~~ help me finish my hw. Plllllzzzzzz

Marco couldn't help but laugh at his phone and he settled down on his bed with his hair still wet, typing out a reply with one hand. 

To: Jean  
From: Marco   
Haha this is why you should've focused earlier and actually done it. I'm completely done so I can go to bed whenever;) 

 

To: Marco  
From: Jean  
Aww come on, please? Pretty please with a coffee run tomorrow morning on top?????

To: Jean  
From: Marco  
We have UIL tomorrow, we have to be at school at 6:30! 

To: Marco  
From: Jean  
It's okay! I'll pick you up at 6:10 and we can swing by Starbucks and get coffee (my treat) and then you won't be tired. 

To: Jean  
From: Marco  
...... Fine. 

To: Marco  
From: Jean   
Yessss. Thank you so much. I just need some help on Spanish since I have a test last period and we get back during 6th period. 

To: Jean   
From: Marco  
Okay, I'll send you some of my notes and I'll go over stuff with you tomorrow. Oh I also have another condition though. 

To: Marco   
From: Jean  
What?

To: Jean  
From: Marco  
I'm gonna donate blood on Friday so you have to come with me, okay?

Jean groaned loudly in his empty room. He hated needles. Don't get him wrong, it wasn't as if he was scared or anything, he just didn't like them......

To: Marco  
From: Jean  
Okay.... But you have to stay next to me okay? 

Marco snickered, he didn't know up until now that Jean wasn't good with this kind of stuff but from the reaction that he got just now, he assumed.

To: Jean  
From: Marco  
Aww okay, do you want me to hold your hand?

To: Marco  
From: Jean  
...... Yes.

 

Marco's face felt hot and he had to throw his phone onto his pillow so he could shove his face into the blankets. He knew that the two of them were unnaturally close for two guys, and he felt guilty and like he should tell Jean about his sexuality. His fears of rejection would get the better of him every time though, and he had yet to tell him. It wasn't as if he had to tell Jean, but considering how close they were and the fact that Marco knew Jean would either be offended, hurt, or repulsed if he found out from someone else, it was probably best that he told him soon. 

 

Marco didn't have a crush on Jean or anything since they were just really good friends. He would admit that Jean was physically very attractive and he was more than happy to spend all of his free time with him since he liked Jean so much, but ..... He knew he would never fall for Jean in fear that it would ruin their friendship. He was dead set on this and was determined not keep true to his words. 

To: Marco   
From: Jean   
Can you Skype in a bit? It's not late yet and if you have no hw, and if there's not much studying I'm gonna do then I want to talk. 

Jean's text snapped Marco out from his thoughts and he responded quickly since Jean got upset whenever he responded slowly. 

To: Jean  
From: Marco   
Yeah, sure. 

Marco got situated on his bed with his laptop and waited for Jean to call him. Marco turned his webcam off in order to hide his disheveled after shower look and his nerdy glasses from Jean. 

Marco picked up on the first ring and Jean squinted at his screen.

"Marco, why don't you have your camera on." 

"Umm because my hair is a mess?"

"Oh my god I don't care about that, just turn it on." He demanded.

"But I don't want to~" Marco whined. "You're just gonna make fun of how nerdy I look." 

Jean could see the pout in his voice and laughed, "I'm not gonna make fun of you! Please?"

He heard shuffling and clicking of keys and Marco's pink freckled face came to life on his screen. 

"I hate you...." Marco muttered, causing Jean to smirk. 

"Oh? Then I guess you don't want me to go donate blood with you then." 

Marco's eyes widened and gasped in mock horror.   
"You just don't want to go because you're probably scared of needles!"

"W-what!? I am not! I am a grown ass man. No way." Jean spluttered.

Marco giggled and started to poke fun at Jean. 

"I'm sure there's something that you're scared of too so stop making fun of me." Jean snapped.

Marco held up his hands in surrender but continued to laugh. "Sorry, sorry. I just didn't expect someone like you to be scared of needles." 

"S-shut up." Jean's face grew visibly red and he felt a twinge of embarrassment at being laughed by Marco. 

"I bet you're actually secretly scared of the dark or something." Jean said smugly. 

"Ha... Hilarious. I'm not a 5 year old in case you haven't noticed." Jean had hit the bullseye but there was no way in hell that Jean was going to find out about this. Heaven forbid he did or else 1. He would never live it down and 2. He would be living in fear for the next couple of weeks. 

 

The rest of their conversation was friendly mocking and teasing and talk about their performance tomorrow. It would be a long and grueling day and they were not looking forward to it. However they agreed that they would text each other during their rehearsal before and would sit next to each other on the bus ride there. At least there was one thing to look forward to. 

Halfway through their skype session Marco noticed that it was starting to get late and he suggested that they hang up or Jean go take a shower at the least and Marco would wait for him. Jean complained about Marco acting like his mother but went to go take a shower, but not before threatening to cutting off all the electricity in Marco's house if he hung up. 

Marco simply rolled his eyes and shoo'd him away. While he waited for Jean, he went through his schedule for the rest of the week to check and see if there was any homework he could finish now. Thankfully, there wasn't much for the rest of the week, but he had a couple of things next week. He could worry about that later though. 

He heard rustling on from the other end and switched windows back to skype.

 

Jean came back into view, his hair tousled and face flushed, probably from the heat of the water. He couldn't see what kind of pants he was wearing but he was glad that Jean had a blue sweatshirt on since he tended to kick his blankets off during the night. Marco always pestered Jean about what he wore to sleep knowing that sooner or later he would catch a cold. 

"Hey can I keep this jacket? I really like it. I'll give you one of mine so..." Jean asked.

Marco was confused for a second but upon further inspection he realized that the blue sweatshirt was his blue sweatshirt. 

Marco frowned. "But that's my favorite jacket. It's super soft and comfy and big."

"Oh come one Marco, you can have one of mine. I'm bigger than you so it'll be big and comfy." Jean bargained. 

"Noooo give it back tomorrow!"

Jean shook his head. "Nope. I'll give you my favorite jacket tomorrow but I'm not giving this back. He smirked and buried his face in the jacket. 

Marco squinted his eyes and stuck out his tongue childishly. "You're mean." 

Jean shrugged and laughed. "Sorry." 

"Ugh I should've just let you freeze."

Jean gasped in horror as if that was the most horrendous thing that he had ever heard. 

"Hey, don't give me that look." 

"Sorry..." Jean hugged his knees to his chest and 

Marco glanced at the clock on his laptop and he sighed at the time. "Jean, it's already 11 and we have to be up and ready by like 6. And I know how you are in the mornings so we should probably ---" 

Marco was cut off by Jean's loud groan of complaint. "Fiiiiiiine." 

The said their goodnights and hung up soon after. Marco was tired and quickly fell asleep while on the other hand, Jean had a harder time. The jacket smelled exactly like Marco, sweet and comforting. Marco's smell enveloped Jean and he felt comfortable and safe and most importantly, happy, as he finally started to doze off.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi thank you all so much for reading! It really keeps me going knowing that people read this. Also thank you for leaving comments but really, if any of you have suggestions or questions please leave a comment! Thanks again :)

At exactly 5:45 a.m., Marco woke up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, wash his face, and get ready. He wasn't a morning person so he was still drowsy and half awake when Jean came by to pick him up. 

He shoved his backpack, uniform bag with his bow tie and white shirt, and his black shoes into the trunk. He checked and made sure his wallet was in his pocket along with his phone before stepping into the warm car. 

Marco was glad that the car was warm since mornings were still cold and he didn't bring a jacket because he knew he would be in his uniform for about half the day and the school was usually hot. But as of right now, he was regretting it. 

"Morning." 

"Mmmm.... Good morning..."  
Marco answered, his voice full of sleep. 

Jean chuckled and reached back for something in the backseat before throwing it on top of Marco. 

"What the hell Jean?" Marco growled, removing the large thing on top of him. He couldn't see what it was until it was off of him since it had been covering his eyes, however he knew that it smelled strongly of cologne and it made him scrunch up his nose. 

"Geez, someone is grumpy this morning." Jean's eyebrows were raised and he briefly glanced at him before backing out of the driveway and driving off towards the Starbucks near their school. 

"I'm sleepy...." Marco grumbled. He realized that the thing in his lap was a jacket. "What is this?" 

"Uh a jacket. Obviously. I mean come on, I know you're tired but wow." 

"No I can tell what it is, I'm asking why you gave it to me. Are you really not going to return my jacket?" He questioned while he put the jacket on. 

"Yeah, I was serious last night. And since you put my jacket on, I'm assuming that you've accepted the exchange so, sorry but your jacket is now mine." 

Marco hmph'd and pulled the sleeves over his hands, though that wasn't hard considering how big the jacket was. The jacket was black and had their school logo on the left upper hand corner. Little did Marco know that on the back, in bold white letters, the last name 'KIRSTEIN' was written. 

Jean made a sharp turn into the parking space right in front of Starbucks.

"I'll be right back, you can stay in the car since you look like you're about to fall asleep." 

"Mhmmm.... Thanks." Marco said quietly, his tone completely different from before. He closed his eyes after Jean got out and shut the door and waited a while for him to come back with the coffee. 

Jean carefully opened the door and placed the drinks in the cup holders and turned his head to say something to Marco but noticed he was asleep. Marco had such a peaceful expression on while snuggled into Jean's jacket and frankly, even if Marco was a guy, Jean found it pretty cute. 

He stared at him for a couple more moments before coming to a sudden realization. He pulled out his phone and turned the flash off before snapped a picture of Marco who was still sound asleep. 

He smiled at his phone and put it back into his pocket before noticing the time and driving towards the school. 

Once they reached the school, it was a struggle to wake Marco up and make him carry his things all the way to the band hall and start setting up. 

 

After sleeping through most of rehearsal, they were currently loading onto the bus that would take them to the concert hall. It was now 8:30 and they were dressed in tuxes and formal dresses and ready to preform after their 6:30 to 7:50 morning rehearsal. As promised, Jean and Marco sat next to each other, their seats in front of Connie and Sasha's and across the aisle from Ymir and Krista. 

Most of the bus ride to the concert hall was quiet because like Marco and Jean, they were fast asleep. Halfway through the bus ride, Marco was jolted awake when his head hit the window and he yelped in pain. Jean was asleep as well but somehow, his head was still straight, and he was sitting up properly. Marco scooted closer to him and reluctantly borrowed Jean's shoulder. He would just explain when they woke up.

However, upon reaching the destination and waking up, Jean didn't ask for an explanation or question it at all and instead fixed Marco's bow tie and smoothed out his hair. Yawning, Marco walked into the warm up room with music in one hand and instrument in other. 

They warmed up, performed their 3 UIL pieces, and sight read and incredibly easy piece and just like that, they were done and back on the bus. The whole band knew that they most likely got a rating of 1 so none of them were very worried about it, except for stupid Jaeger who was going on and on about one cracked note that he happened to pick up. 

 

Jean and Marco talked with each other and with their friends around them on the way back, discussing where they should go to for lunch since they had an hour before they would have to actually return to class. They decided they would go get some bubble tea and some noodles from the restaurant next door. The rest of their conversation consisted of gossip and random topics as well as what they had to do in the last 2 periods of school. 

Time passed by quickly and Marco, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Ymir, Krista, Reiner, and Annie snuck out from the back of the band hall as soon as they put their things up, changed, and got ready and everyone headed for their cars or followed whoever their ride was. 

 

Marco enjoyed having lunch with everyone, even though he felt a bit guilty about not telling their teacher. And of course when he voiced this, the rest of the group brushed it off as ridiculous and that Marco was being too good of a student and he needed to relax. 

 

After eating too much, they walked over to the bubble tea store, some of the guys groaning in protest at the thought of consuming more food. 

Jean, Reiner, Ymir, and Annie sat at a booth near the window and waited for Krista, Connie, and Marco to go buy their drinks. While waiting in line the three of them chatted quietly and waited patiently. The store was relatively warm and with Jean's large jacket on, Marco was beginning to heat up so he pulled the jacket off without a second thought and fanned himself while complaint to Connie how hot it was. 

Connie laughed and patted his shoulder. "Yeah well with that huge ass jacket on I was wondering when you were going to start melting." He joked. 

Krista giggled and nodded. "Where did you even get that jacket? It's so huge. I would hope that you can shop for clothes properly." 

Marco knew they were teasing and yet he became a bit flustered. "No! I mean yeah I do. It's a friend's jacket. I'm just borrowing it." It wasn't a complete lie. 

Krista snatched the jacket from Marco before he even realized and held it up. She saw the logo on it and smirked. "Who is this friend? Huh? They obviously go to our school." 

Connie stared at the back of the jacket, since it was facing him and snorted. "Krista, why don't you try looking at the back?" 

Krista turned the jacket around and gasped. "Ooooooooh okay. I see... I see."

"W-what?" 

"Mmm nothing." Krista teased. Marco didn't have a chance to pester her since their turn came up and they quickly ordered before bringing the drinks to the booth where Krista squeezed in next to Ymir and was smirked at Marco who had the jacket in his lap. He nonchalantly drank his boba tea and tried his best to ignore the smirks sent his way by Krista. Ymir leaned closer to Krista to quietly ask her what happened. 

"Oh it's nothing. I'm just teasing Marco about something." She winked at Marco from across the table and he choked on his drink, earning a worried look from Jean who hadn't been paying much attention to Marco until now. 

"I'm fine, really." Marco reassured him before turning back to Krista. "What are you even teasing me about?" He hissed. 

"Oh I think you know."

Marco looked around to make sure no one was overhearing them. "No I do not. He is my friend and that's why I happen to have it not because of some other weird reason." 

He looked at Ymir, "Tell your girlfriend to stop making stuff up just because she has homoerotic thoughts about her friends." 

Marco sank back into his seat and sulked and pouted as he drank the rest of his tea. Jean saw this out of the corner of his eye and wanted to laugh but held it in, knowing that Marco would kill him if he told him that he looked like a cute little kid, pouting because he couldn't get what he wanted. Instead he offered the rest of his drink to Marco since he loved boba. 

 

Marco took Jean's drink and resumed his sulking, wandering off into his thoughts about Jean. He definitely did not like him. Not even a smidge. None. Nada. Nope. 

 

'Absolutely no way." Marco thought as he peeked at Jean.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and for all of your wonderful comments! It really keeps me going :)

Marco stepped inside his house, tired and ready to take a nap. He wasn't really upset, just a bit embarrassed at all the looks and comments he got from Krista. 

She kept on dropping hints at him whenever she could, even after they left the bubble tea shop and got back to school. Jean questioned him as to what she was referring to but he brushed it off and made sure they didn't revisit the topic. 

 

Just because Marco found Jean attractive didn't mean he necessarily liked him and they had only just established they were friends. He wasn't planning on changing anything anytime soon. Even if he did fall for him, he had already made up his mind that he would never let anyone know. Why destroy a friendship that has so much potential? They were already such good friends and spent every possible minute with each other and anyone could tell they would end up being much closer in the future even though they had a rough start. 

 

In fact, Jean was suppose to come over and have dinner with him tonight since it was Marco's turn. Every other day, they would either have breakfast or dinner together. They had the same lunch period though so they didn't have to worry about it. It was a good system since they were gradually getting busier after school with ACT and SAT classes, plus Jean was working and they didn't get to talk leisurely after school like they wanted to. 

Marco checked the clock and sighed in relief. He still had about 3 hours, give or take 10 minutes, before Jean came over so could finish all his homework and studying for school, make dinner and eat with Jean, and then do some ACT studying. He pulled out his glasses from his backpack along with his notes and hand out and headed up the stairs towards his laptop. 

When it came to studying, Marco was diligent and didn't waste any time, making him a straight A student. Well, most of the time. There have been some times when he just gave up at the end of the 6 weeks and he would half ass his assignments, which earned him a high B. 

His parents rarely checked his grades and they weren't too concerned, given Marco's serious attitude about school. Actually, Marco barely saw his parents lately and although he missed spending time with them, he was glad for the freedom since it just meant more time with Jean. And there was no awkward meeting between his parents and Jean. Which was good...... Probably. He would have to introduce him sooner or later and he knew his parents wouldn't disapprove of him, but he still wanted to put it off. 

He sighed, wishing he could push Jean out of his mind. They spent so much time together and even when they were apart, Marco had become so attached to Jean that he would think about him constantly. It made it seem like he was infatuated with Jean and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. In the first place, it wasn't like he was trying to think about him, it was just that something would remind him of Jean and then he wouldn't be able to get him out of his mind. 

He tapped his pencil on his desk, frowning slightly at his pace of work. He had a bit of homework piled up since he was gone for most of his classes today and he wasn't too pleased about it, but his mind kept on wandering every now and then. He got up and got his soundproof headphones he got for christmas and decided that he really really needed to focus and get all of this out of the way before Jean came over. The headphones fit snugly over his ears and turned on the Ghibli soundtrack. 

With the music blocking out the unnecessary thoughts, his focus sharpened and he soon became immersed in his work. 

An hour passed by.

Then two. 

Then three, and now it was nearly time for Jean to come over. Marco had slowly lost track of time and didn't even think about getting dinner ready or about Jean coming over. The immense amount of information he was trying to absorb kept him distracted from Jean. 

He didn't hear the doorbell ringing or the knocking. His phone went off a couple moments later and he briefly saw the screen flash. Deciding that he should take a break, he picked up his phone and checked the screen. 

1 missed call from Jean

Marco pressed 'call back' and took his head phones off to bring his phone up to his ear.

Jean picked up on the first ring and he sounded more than just irritated. "Oi Marco are you not home or something?"

"What? No, I'm home."

"Then open the door! I've been knocking for the past 5 minutes." 

Realization hit Marco hard and he quickly apologized and hung up, rushing down the stairs to open the door for Jean. 

Jean had an angry look on, although he was more worried than anything. He had seen the light in Marco's room on so he knew that he was home but Marco not answering the door or the phone made him nervous and worried sick. He thought that something had happened to him and it was nerve racking. 

He grabbed Marco by the collar of his shirt and yanked him close to him, their foreheads touching. 

"Don't make me worry like that." He muttered before pulling back a bit and head butting him very lightly. 

Marco's heart pounded and he couldn't focus, much less comprehend how close they just were. He stuttered out a sorry and let Jean inside. They walked into the dining room and Marco sighed and looked apologetically at Jean.

"I uh lost track of time and forgot to make dinner. Do you want to order take out?" 

Jean had been looking forward to eating Marco's cooking. Despite being a teenage guy, Marco was skilled when it came to cooking and Jean loved him even more for that. 

"No it's fine. If you don't mind me using your kitchen, I can make something for us." He suggested. Jean didn't want to be selfish and he knew Marco was probably busy studying before came and that was the reason why he hadn't made dinner yet. He didn't mind making dinner for the two of them since it would give him something to do and Marco would be able to go finish up his homework and maybe they would have time to talk and relax afterwards. 

 

Marco was reluctant in letting Jean using his kitchen. God only knew what it would look like after. 

"You can finish up your homework while I cook and I was thinking that maybe we can watch a movie or something since it's been a long day?" 

Watching a movie and relaxing after studying for 3 hours straight actually sounded really nice and Marco didn't want to turn that offer down. He chewed on his bottom lip and nodded slowly. 

"But only on one condition. Do not mess up my kitchen." 

Jean chuckled and patted Marco on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I won't. You should go finish up your homework." 

"Alright, alright. But remember, if you mess up my kitchen, I will mess you up." 

Jean raised an eyebrow, "Uh huh of course you will. Now get going." He shooed Marco away and Marco glanced one more time at his precious kitchen before going to finish up the rest of his work. 

Jean looked through Marco's fridge and noticed that there were a lot ingredients. He grabbed the milk, bacon, and from the pantry he got out the pasta. He knew that the onions and potatoes were in the corner next to the fridge so he grabbed an onion and placed it on the chopping board. 

The only thing Marco had left to finish was the handout for physics and he knew for sure that the answers were online since he heard some of his classmates talking about it during class. He wasn't completely against copying the answers but it wasn't something he did often. He wasn't too comfortable with leaving Jean alone in the kitchen and wanted to finish as soon as possible. 

He typed out the first question on the paper and clicked search. The websites with the answers instantly popped up and Marco clicked on the first one and began to quickly copy down everything. 

He began to smell whatever Jean was cooking when he was almost done. It was only a faint smell so he couldn't tell what Jean was making but it was enough to speed up Marco's pace of work. 

Once he was done, he organized his papers and placed them on his desk, making a metal note not to forget them tomorrow morning. By the time Marco came downstairs, Jean was done with cooking and had everything set on the table already. 

Jean was washing the cooking utensils that he had used and when he heard the soft footsteps, he turned his head around and grinned at Marco. 

"I'm almost done cleaning so you can go ahead and sit down." 

"Thanks." 

"Oh and as you can see, I didn't ruin your kitchen." Jean added.

Marco nodded and smiled lightly, glad that nothing was out of place. 

He say down at the table and waited for Jean to finish up. Dinner looked pretty good. Jean had made pasta with Alfredo sauce and although it was simple, it looked tasty. 

"This looks pretty good." He commented as Jean came to sit down at the table. 

Jean smiled proudly, "Thanks." 

They ate in a comfortable silence but they would talk every now and then about what they did between now and after school as well as what movie they should watch afterwards. 

Marco thanked Jean for making dinner and they cleaned up together, eager to get everything done so they could relax. 

They decided that they would watch Thor 2 and settled down on the couch, comfortable and satisfied. Jean grabbed the large blanket on the arm of the couch and threw it over both of them as the movie started. They sat close together and Marco was feeling bold enough to lean on Jean as he 'watched' the movie.

 

Halfway through the movie, Marco's laughs and replies to Jean's comments on the movie died down and Jean looked down at him to ask him what was wrong. Marco's eyes were closed, his breathing was quiet and he looked peaceful. Jean grabbed the remote and turned the tv off so the loud noises and bright screen wouldn't wake him up. 

 

Jean carefully tucked the blanket around Marco and leaned his head on Marco's before closing his eyes. He forgot to set an alarm on his phone but oh well, he would probably wake up around midnight. 

It took him a while to fall asleep. After all this was kind of weird between two guy friends and he hoped that Marco wouldn't mind when he woke up. Personally, Jean didn't mind since he felt that this only made them closer and he liked having a close friend like him. 

As he started to doze off, he heard Marco's phone go off and he reached for the phone that was in Marco's hand. 

 

The screen told him that some guy Jean didn't know texted Marco and Jean was annoyed at being bothered right before falling asleep. He turned off the sound and put the phone down next to him and closed his eyes, ready to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and for commenting! It really keeps me going! Please comment if you have any suggestions about the plot or writing. I would love to hear them. Thanks again for reading! I will update tomorrow or late tonight.

Marco felt safe, comfortable, and had no urge to wake up or get up. His eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the dark room. 

He didn't remember falling asleep but the tv was turned off and he had no recollection of what happened after seeing Chris Hemsworth half naked on his 60 inch screen and blushing. He stayed still for a couple moments, still sleepy and mind hazy. 

It was hard for him to move, being wrapped up in a blanket and all, and he considered just sleeping on the couch. But his neck was stiff and sore, and he had basically slept half sitting up, half leaning on something. 

He froze when he heard a quiet groan from next to him and he felt Jean resting his head back on top of his. 

'Oh god I fell asleep on him.' Marco thought as he started to feel hot. He wanted to pull away but with Jean leaning on him too, it was harder and apparently the blanket wasn't the only thing wrapped around him. Jean's arm moved when he shifted his position and Marco noticed that Jean's arm was also wrapped around Marco. It took him a moment to figure out what kind of position they were sitting in. 

Marco's face was currently buried in the crook of Jean's neck, his head resting on his shoulder, and he was basically laying on his chest, while Jean's arm was wrapped around Marco's shoulder protectively and his head rested lightly on Marco's. It was an intimate position, that much Marco knew. 

He felt happy but at the same time he wasn't sure what to make of this. Did they end up like this why they were sleeping? He didn't think there was a chance that Jean positioned himself like this and purposely fell asleep. 

 

Breathing in deeply, he let out a breath through his mouth, doing his best to bring his pounding heart rate down. There was nothing he could do about his flushed face no matter how much he wished so the most he could do was mentally prepare himself for when he woke Jean up. 

 

Marco did not want to wake Jean but they still had school tomorrow and the close proximity made him nervous. He tentatively reached out a hand and tapped Jean's leg under the blanket.

"Jean.... Psst... Jean. Wake up." Marco gently called out. 

Jean's voice was laced with sleep and he brought up his left hand to rub at his eyes. "Mm what?" He said groggily.

"It's like 2 in the morning, you need to get home. We still have school tomorr-- wait no, today." 

"It's not tomorrow until I wake up in the morning." Jean growled. 

 

"We still have to go to school in like 6 hours. Your parents are probably worried." Marco warned, squirming around in an attempt to leave Jean's side.

 

Jean sighed and pulled Marco closer to him and held him tightly to stop his movements. "I don't wanna. I'm sleepy and comfortable." 

Marco lightly hit Jean's chest. "At least text your parents." He scolded, still worried about the consequences. 

"Ugh fine, I'll call them in the morning. But look, I can't go home. Curfew is 12 and you said it was 2 so I can't drive back. Looks like I'm just gonna have to stay here." Jean smiled sleepily and he looked happy to have such a good point. 

 

"You don't have spare clothes." 

"Yeah I do, last weekend I forgot my extra bag with clothes remember?"

Marco thought about it for a second before remembering the duffel bag that was awkwardly sitting in his room. Groaning he buried his face in the blankets.  
"Fine you can stay but can you please let go of me so I can take a shower and sleep in my bed?" 

 

"No."

Marco's face popped up from the blankets and he looked up at Jean. "What do you mean no? I don't want to sleep on the couch." 

"You don't? Well that's too bad." Jean said smugly. It was easy to trap Marco between himself and the couch since Marco's whole body was already on top of the couch, all he had to do was sit up so Marco slipped off of him and was lying on the couch. From there he pushed Marco so his back was touching the back of the couch and now Jean had space to crawl into the blanket and lay down next to him and tangle his legs with Marco's. He grabbed a small cushion and put it under their heads, his arm underneath the pillow and his head. 

He smiled at Marco who glared at him in the dark. "You know that I sleep better with you anyway. Or are you being mean to me?" This wasn't a lie and Marco knew that since Jean often had a hard time falling asleep and Marco would either talk him to sleep over the phone or if they were at Marco's house, they would sleep next to each other but never this close. 

"..... I'm not...."

"Good. Now go back to sleep." Jean brushed Marco's hair from his eyes and he smiled. It was no lie that he had a soft spot for Marco. His hand dropped to Marco's shoulder and he closed his eyes. 

Marco on the other hand was pretty sure that his heart skipped a beat. The closeness and Jean's gestures and smiles were putting his health in danger. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing for sleep to take over so he wouldn't have to think about Jean and his stupid smile and how stupidly close he was to him. Marco had realized that he liked Jean on some level. Although it could be a crush, it could also very well just be a mistake and Marco just might really like Jean as a friend. 

 

When it came to feelings, Marco was very stubborn and he rarely admitted that he liked someone, much less actually confess to them. Considering most of his crushes had been guys so far, it was no surprise that he kept it a secret. In this day and age, society was much more accepting but even then there were always stories of bullying and discrimination and honestly, Marco was too scared of what would happen if his friends found out. The only exception was Ymir and Krista since they had been together since the beginning of high school, and Ymir could fight better than any of their friends so naturally no one had anything against them. 

The only person he thought about telling was Jean, but that was only because they were such good friends. He was truly glad for having Jean as a friend. They were incredibly close and he felt happy around Jean and liked talking to him. He knew that he would never trade this friendship for anything and wanted to protect it as much as possible. There really were no words for how much the two treasured each other and how precious the other was to them. 

He was determined to keep his mouth shut and close his heart off in order to maintain their current friendship, if it was necessary. Marco had dealt with a similar situation before and he knew he would be able to handle the pain. 

'I'll be fine. I'll be fine.' He chanted to himself, the sleep starting to take over him, numbing the tug in his chest that he felt. 

 

 

Morning came too quickly for the both of them. Marco crawled over Jean's sleeping figure to get off the couch and hop into the shower. Once he was done getting ready, he brought the duffle bag from his room with him when he went downstairs to wake Jean. Surprisingly, Jean was already awake, but he was still wrapped up in the blanket, his hair sticking up. 

Marco shoo'd him off to the shower and to get ready while he went off to make breakfast for the two of them. He folded the blanket and adjusted the cushions and he heard the water turn on in the bathroom. A dull thud was heard as something fell off of the couch. 

Marco looked down to see that his phone was on the ground and he quickly picked it up. He had completely forgotten about it last night and was worried someone had texted him. 

1 missed call and 3 messages. 

All of these were from Milieus. Marco unlocked his phone to check the messages since he didn't want to be rude. 

To: Marco  
From : Milieus Zeramuski  
Hey, I know it's been a while but can we talk?

 

To: Marco   
From: Milieus Zeramuski  
I'm gonna call you. 

 

Marco's whole being froze and became stiff when he scrolled down to the last message. 

To: Marco  
From : Milieus Zeramuski  
I miss you. I still love you.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short update guys, so I will update again tonight. Thanks so much for reading and please leave a comment if you have any requests or suggestions!

Thursday was long yet short. Boring yet full of excitement. Awful yet amazing. 

All of this was internalized however, and Marco did not voice anything. The day was long in the sense that school was grueling and harsh as usual but texting Jean throughout all his classes made the day pass by quickly and it gave him a good distraction. His classes were a bore but Milieus's texts made him put his hand over his chest in fear of his heart popping out. 

 

Waking up next to Jean and eating breakfast with him and driving to school together was great. Marco could only describe it as the perfect morning. Except for the unexpected texts. After reading the texts and being throughly shocked, he locked his phone and put it in his pocket, prioritizing making breakfast before thinking of how to respond. 

Marco knew and had been friends with Milieus since the beginning of middle school and they had been fairly close as far as friends go. In the 9th grade, Marco had confided in him that he was beginning to question his sexuality and they were both ecstatic since Marco wasn't the only one who was suspecting their sexuality. And of course what better way to test your sexuality than doing things with your best friend who was also questioning their sexuality? 

As a result they found out Marco was bisexual but Milieus was a full out homosexual. They never dated officially but after their realization, they often spent time together alone and were to an extent intimate on more than one occasion.

Milieus was the first to confess his feelings for Marco and accept that he had fallen for his best friend. On the other hand, it took Marco a little longer to realize it. A little too late in fact. Milieus did not mention that he had put in an application for the TAMS program, which allowed a student to finish the rest of high school and do their first 2 years of college at the same time. The only catch was that they would have to live at the dorm of the college. 

To this day, Marco regretted the fact that he never got to tell Milieus about his real feelings before he left. No matter how smart Milieus was, college level classes for a sophomore was hard and he rarely had time to come back and visit or even talk with his friends. Thanks to this Marco hadn't talked to Milieus since they had said their tear filled goodbyes and Milieus boldly told him that he would come back for Marco and that his confession from a while back was no joke. 

By 5th period, Marco was dying to text Milieus back but wasn't even sure what to say. All of this was happen too quickly and it was out of nowhere as well. He resisted the strong urge and decided to just complain about how bored he was to Jean, who despite being in a class that he needed to be paying attention in, responded at the speed of light. 

Throughout the course of the day, he had received 2 more texts from Milieus. One of them asking if they could talk tonight and the other text was just him asking the same thing again, just worded differently. 

Jean had noticed that something was off about Marco ever since he finished his shower and went down to eat breakfast with him so he was more than happy to text Marco the whole day, hoping that it would help Marco feel better. The one thing he didn't do was push Marco to tell him what was wrong. They were close enough to understand that if something was wrong, they would just have to wait until the other was ready. However, he kept a close eye on Marco after school. He looked agitated and fidgeted a lot, and even got some weird looks from some of their other friends. 

 

As they walked out into the parking lot towards Jean's car, Jean softly asked Marco if he was feeling alright. Marco looked distracted, but he answered with a nod. He was quiet the whole way back and Jean slowly became irritated until he finally snapped and pulled into the park's parking lot since the park was on the way to Marco's house and if he had driven all the way to Marco's house he would have a chance to run away. He parked properly and killed his engine before sharply turning his head towards Marco. 

 

Needless to say Marco was startled at the sudden stop and looked back at Jean with a confused look. The inside of Jean's truck wasn't small but Marco felt a bit trapped from the way Jean's eyes pierced into him. 

"W-what?" Marco asked. 

"Look. I'm trying to be really patient. I am. But I can tell that something is really bothering you and it's killing me. You know that you can tell me anything right?" 

 

"I know...." He replied quietly. 

"I'm not gonna force it out of you, but is there anything that you can tell me so that I'm not so goddamn worried about you? Just anything is fine. I just need to know something. I hate seeing you upset and you know that. Please?" Jean pleaded. 

Marco definitely felt stuck now. He so badly wanted to tell Jean everything. Well, he obviously couldn't tell everything, but if it was only a bit, it should be alright. 

"I... Well.... I don't know where to start...." 

Jean gave Marco an encouraging look, urging him to continue and showing him it was okay to take his time. Marco breathed in deeply and slowly let it out. 

"O-okay. I'm um. Well before I say anything you have to promise me that y-you won't treat me any differently or be mad that I didn't tell you sooner. Because I really wanted to. But I just ... I've been scared." 

Jean's expression softened and he reached out for Marco's hand, gripping it tightly. He cocked his head a bit to the side and smiled, "Hey, look at me, do you think that I have the right to judge you or treat you any differently because of what you're about to tell me. I can definitely promise you that nothing will ever change, you know how I feel about our friendship. You really think I would try and ruin that?" 

"N-no...." 

"Good." Jean didn't release Marco's hand and he wish Jean would let go because he was sure it was going to get awkward. He sucked in a breath and his chest puffed up a bit. He could totally do this. There was no reason to tell Jean about Milieus but he would definitely see through his lie if he brushed this off or came up with something. Besides, telling Jean about his sexuality didn't mean he was telling Jean he liked him. It would be fine. 

"I'm k-kinda gay.." 

There was a moment of dead silence and then a roar of laughter from Jean. His forehead was on the steering wheel as he clutched his stomach and laughed. Marco jerked his hand away, a large stone dropping into his stomach, giving him a sinking feeling. 

Jean wiped his eyes and he patted Marco's head. "God I'm so glad that was it. From the way you were acting, I was beginning to think you killed someone!" 

 

Marco's face reddened and suddenly, he felt incredibly stupid for holding back and not telling Jean. He should've expected something like this. What had he been so worried for? It was Jean. The guy that Marco was best friends with and was most comfortable with. Realization struck hit him hard and for the first time that day, his face broke out into a smile. Jean wasn't that type of person but paranoia was a dangerous thing that was capable of twisting his thoughts about others. 

Jean gradually calmed down and he faced Marco with a grin. "I'm glad you told me. Thanks. I mean, really though. I'm sure it wasn't easy to tell me so I'm really happy you trust me enough to tell me." 

 

Marco smiled back, relief overshadowing his worries for a moment. "Y-yeah. You can't tell anyone though, no one else knows." He added quickly. 

Jean nodded and turned the engine on. "Shall we head on home?" 

"Yeah." He replied and with that, Jean began to drive. 

 

They said their goodbyes and Marco went inside his house, still giddy and feeling aloof from telling Jean. He spent the rest of the evening texting Jean and relaxing for the most part. Tomorrow was a Friday and there actually wasn't that much due for once. He settled down on his couch with his iPad, ready to waste some time before taking a shower when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. 

As expected, it was from Jean.

To:Marco  
From: Jean  
Don't forget that we're going to the blood drive tomorrow.

To: Jean  
From: Marco   
I was the one who invited you, of course I wouldn't forget! 

To: Marco   
From: Jean  
Lol well idk you can be forgetful too so. 

To: Jean  
From : Marco   
Omfg shut up. Just cuz I forgot my hw once doesn't mean you can call me forgetful. 

Marco switched from texting to playing 2048 on his phone as he waited for a text back. He saw the little message alert on the top of his phone and he immediately pressed it to reply. 

To: Marco   
From: Milieus  
Hey. Can we please talk? Please, Marco I've been dying to talk to you. Can I call you?

Marco chewed on his bottom lip and he set his iPad on the coffee table. What should he do now? 

To: Milieus  
From: Marco   
Um hey. Yeah, we can just give me like 5 minutes. 

His finger hovered over the send button, still unsure. He could talk to him so there would be a proper closure and Marco could move on. And yet he was scared of all the emotions and memories that would return.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I am so sorry. I've been so busy but I will be updating regularly again starting from today. I really hope you guys are enjoying my story and I'm really thankful for you guys reading it and giving me kudos and even leaving me comments! I didn't expect anyone to read my story so I'm really glad. Thanks so much for reading and as always, if you have any suggestions or recommendations please leave a comment! I'm really happy that you guys read this!

There isn't a single living person who hasn't felt the gut wrenching despair that kills you from the inside, filling your chest with pain and making breathing hard. 

Marco was full of anxiety and the nerves practically made him want to throw himself out the window. He had to stop himself from chucking his phone at the wall and his eyes kept darting at the clock on the wall that quietly ticked away. He was waiting, and that was all that he could do. 

It had been exactly 3 minutes and 56 seconds since he had replied to Milieus's text and he still didn't know what he was thinking. He breathed in for 4 seconds, held his breath for 7 seconds, and exhaled for 8 seconds. This quirky ritual had managed to calm him down even if just a bit whenever he was nervous and he repeated it a couple of times, praying his chest would stop hurting and he would calm down. 

A minute passed by and his heart pounded in his chest and Marco could physically feel the blood pumping through him. 4 seconds till 5 minutes.  
3...  
2...  
1...

There was no ringtone, no buzzing, and his phone screen remained dark. His heart was still pounding and he felt even more nervous than before. 

The chances of Milieus calling him at exactly 5 minutes after he sent the text were slim and he knew that, and yet there was nothing he could do other than count the seconds passing by. His thumbnail was non exist by now, and he clutched onto his phone. 

He jumped in surprise, at the shrill sound of his ringtone that pierced the silence around him and he fumbled around with his phone. With shaky fingers he hit the talk button, he raisethe phone to his ear and squeezed his eyes shut. 

"H-hello?" He squeaked. Utterly mortified at the pitch of his voice he clenched his jaws and his lips were pursed together in a tight line. 

A light laugh carried from the other end, followed by a sorry. 

Marco cleared his throat, "It's okay...." He answered, in a much calmer tone. 

There was a moment of awkward silence before Milieus broke the ice.   
"How have you been?" His voice was soft and Marco's breath hitched at the familiar and nostalgic sound. His voice had gotten just a bit deeper, but it wasn't deep like Jean's. 

"I - I've been good... Just busy with school I guess. What about you?" He asked tentatively. 

"I've missed you." Milieus said bluntly, immediately getting to the point. 

He smiled knowing that Marco's face must be red or at least pink by now. He loved the way the freckles looked sprayed against Marco's colored face. It was a sight to revere in, Marco really was too adorable for his own good. 

"Yeah? I guess I've um missed you too....." Marco fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and he squirmed on the couch. 

"Marco. When I texted you that the other day, I was serious. I still love you and there's nothing I want more than to see you." 

"Stop it.... You live like 40 minutes away and I .... Don't know if I love you anymore." He mumbled. 

Milieus became silent, contemplating what Marco said. 

"So.... When you say that you don't know if you love me anymore, does that mean at one point or another, you did?" He asked slowly. 

Marco stopped breathing completely, and his head pounded from the lack of oxygen and he wasn't sure if he could answer properly. Did he dare? 

"Y-yeah, maybe." He stammered at last. 

"Hmmm....." Milieus hummed and tapped his finger on his desk. "You said that I live 40 minutes away, but unlike last year, I have a car and I can drive now." 

Marco felt lightheaded and the whole conversation felt surreal. "Oh that's um nice?" 

Milieus chuckled, "I'm sorry." 

"A-about what?"

"I shouldn't have suddenly jumped to that topic. It's obviously making you uncomfortable. Now that you've finally returned my texts and I know you didn't get a different number, we can talk about this later. For now, how about you catch me up with what's been going on? And I want to know everything, don't leave anything out." 

A small smiled graced Marco's lips. Milieus could still tell how he was feeling even after nearly 2 years, not to mention they were talking over the phone. 

"O-okay. Well you're gonna have to brace yourself because there's a lot." Marco laughed nervously. 

'Ah, he finally laughed.' Milieus thought. "Hey, I've got all night." 

"Good." Marco breathed in deeply before launching into the various stories he had of him and his few close friends. Starting from the beginning of sophomore year and the awful teachers he had, Marco told Milieus everything. All the Marching band stories, grueling practices, how nerve racked he was for auditions, and new friends he made during 2nd band. Milieus listened intently and genuinely enjoyed hearing the stories. Here and there he would tell Marco a story of his own when the topic was similar. 

Somewhere between listening Milieus telling him how hard everything was and Marco complaining about his ACT scores, Marco began to doze off. His anxiety wore off, making him relax and talk to him while laying down on the couch. He eventually fell asleep from the exhaustion, not being able to stop his heavy eyelids from closing. 

"Hello....? Marco?"   
There wasn't an answer from Marco's end and upon checking the time Milieus realized it was 3 in the morning. He ended the call, assuming that Marco had probably fallen asleep. 

There was still so much that he wanted to talk to Marco about. He especially wanted to meet him again. 'I could go visit him this weekend.....' 

Milieus stretched his back and cracked his neck, getting rid of the stiffness. He felt relaxed and happier than he had in a while and was glad he decided to have enough guts to text Marco. Leaving Marco had been a hard decision for Milieus and he hated being away from him especially without getting an answer from him. There wasn't any more that he could do tonight though so he quickly crawled into bed, excited for tomorrow. 

 

Morning hit Marco harshly and a loud groan came from his dry lips. He had no recollection of the last 5 minutes before he started getting drowsy. 

Marco laid on the couch, blinking at the ceiling and staying still before realizing that he needed to take a shower and get ready now or else he would be late. He rubbed his sleep filled eyes and slowly rose from the couch, wincing at the soreness in his body. 

 

Plugging his phone into the charger, he stripped his clothes off and hopped into the shower, relishing the hot water against his skin. He had to rush through the rest of his morning routine once he got out of the shower, and he quickly dressed and got ready, knowing Jean would be at his house to pick him up in a matter of minutes. 

 

He heard the engine of Jean's truck as it pulled into his driveway, and he rushed out the door, slipping his shoes on and jogging towards Jean's car. 

 

Jean whistled at Marco's flushed look and messy hair. "What're you so riled up for?" He asked, shifting gears to reverse and backing out of the driveway. 

 

"N-nothing. I just overslept." Marco ran his hands through his hair and did his best to fix it. 

"Oh okay." 

They sat in a comfortable silence, waiting in the morning traffic. Now and then they would talk about what all they had to do today but for the most part, Marco was quiet, and Jean didn't try and bother him. 

Friday was always a lazy day for Marco and he spent the day in a daze. He periodically checked his phone but there was no messages. He fell asleep in a couple of his classes and spent doing nothing in the others. 

After school, he spotted Jean in the band hall, talking to Reiner and Annie and he stumbled over to him and rested his head on Jean's shoulder. Jean instinctively patted Marco's head. "When you're ready, we can get going." 

Marco groaned, remembering that he still had to go donate a pint of blood. "I'm ready... I don't have anything to do here anyways." He mumbled into Jean's shoulder. 

He slowly raised his head and waited for Jean to finish up his conversation before they headed out the door. 

 

The signing in and the required survey before giving blood was long and boring and it gave Jean enough time to get nervous. Marco volunteered to go first. 

Wincing at the sting of pain from the large needle, he cracked open one eye to look at the needle sticking out of his arm and he took a picture to gross out Jean later. Marco fiddled with his phone while the blood flowed out of him, the whole process taking about 20 minutes. The guy in scrubs came by his chair and checked his ready-to-burst blood bag. Marco had felt a bit sick and lightheaded when the bag was 3/4 full and he was gradually feeling worse. 

 

He was glad that the bag was filled up since he was now done, or so he thought. The guy brought over 6 test tubes and filled them up completely before taking the needle out of Marco's arm and pressing a gauze against it, asking Marco to hold his arm up. His eyelids fluttered and he felt immensely sick, and was ready to throw up. Feeling lightheaded wasn't helping the urge to puke, but when he was asked if he was Alright, he said yes and smiled widely as possible. 

 

Now that he was done, he would wait for Jean in the waiting area. He slowly lowered his arm and slid off of the chair and started towards the waiting area. Breathing became hard and he couldn't think straight as his vision became spotty. His legs faltered and his vision went black right as he reached the chair. 

Marco sat down on the ground, blinking but not being able to see anything. It was suddenly very hot and he began to sweat, and the sick feel only continued to heighten. He felt hot and restricted, and he was convinced the ground was spinning, except he couldn't see anything. He shakily got off the chair and sank to the ground so he could lay his head down on the chair. 

 

After 10 minutes, he finally regained his vision and his breath although he was still hot and sweaty. He grabbed his water bottle and downed the whole thing, and he felt considerably better. 

Glancing towards the donation chairs, he saw Jean sitting and a different guy in scrubs preparing him. He carefully got up so he could walk over to Jean and stand next to him. 

Jean's face looked serious and Marco couldn't help but giggle at him. 

Jean's head snapped to look at Marco and he squinted. "Don't laugh at me." 

"Sorry, you just look nervous. I guess I was right about you being scared about needles." 

"Shut up.." Jean grumbled, frowning and turning his head away. He wasn't necessarily scared of needles, but he was nervous since it was his first time. 

Marco patted Jean's right hand and flinched in surprise when his hand was jerked back after trying to pull his hand away. Jean gripped Marco's hand as the guy in scrubs came closer and Marco silently gushed at Jean's vulnerable look. He looked scared and childlike almost, making him look all the more cute when he turned his head away so he wouldn't have to watch the needle going inside him. 

 

Marco didn't mention his black out to Jean, fearing that he would make a big deal out of it. He felt better and there really was no reason for Jean to know, and so Marco kept silent. He distracted Jean and soon enough, Jean was done and beaming at him. They were still holding hands, and Marco squeezed his hand before telling him how proud he was of Jean, which of course just made Jean smile even more. 

 

Jean felt better than he did when he walked into the clinic and he tightly held Marco's hand all the way to the car, thinking nothing of it. Marco on the other hand was internally panicked and didn't know what to do. His chest swelled when Jean didn't let go of his hand and a flood of emotions drowned him when he stared at Jean on the way back. 

He told himself in the beginning that he wasn't going to fall for him. It would hurt like a bitch if he did and he didn't want that. He didn't want to fall for him, but he knew he was. And it was awful for him to have feelings for his best friend but it wasn't as if he could help it. Guilt overshadowed his happiness and his smile had faded away when they reached his house. With a heavy heart, he said goodbye to Jean and went inside. 

 

There was still no text from Milieus and Marco decided not to worry about him for the time being. What he really needed to focus on was organizing his feelings for Jean and figuring out what to do. He sighed and pulled his phone out to list everything out. Doing this always helped him since he could see the list and it was much more organized. 

Marco could only hope that this would help him and that he would be able to sort things out, and he probably needed to make a like for Milieus as well. 

 

 

Sneak peak for next chapter :

Jean smirked at the large bundle of blankets and pillows in the backseat of his truck and he went back inside his house to print out the map and grab the bag full of food. It was still way too early to be getting ready since it wasn't even dark yet, but Jean was excited to surprise Marco and hoped that Marco would be full of smiled when Jean showed up at his house. He felt proud of himself for coming up with such a brilliant idea and he nearly patted himself on the back.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Please leave comments if you have any suggestions! Oh also, if anyone can guess where they went to or what Jean has in mind/what they're going to do, please comment and leave your ideas! I will be writing a one shot (any pairing and can be fluff or smut, or a plot of your choosing) for whoever gets it right! :)

Milieus woke up at around 3 in the afternoon on Friday. The good part about already being in college was that he didn't have classes everyday and his schedule was flexible.

He stretched and lazily rolled around on his bed, enjoying the silence. He peered at his phone charging on his desk and briefly wondered if Marco had texted him. 

Unexplainable emotions filled Milieus at the thought of Marco. There was doubt, hope, and most importantly a deep longing for their old friendship. 

Scratching his arm, he got up from the bed and grabbed his phone off the table. 

0 New Messages.

Milieus had classes starting at 5 so he decided on texting Marco after that so they would have plenty of time to talk more. 

He tossed his phone into the bed and grabbed a bath towel, ready to go freshen up. 

4 hours later, he was finished with his lecture and he walked back to his dorm, moving at a slow pace. This was mostly because he was typing out a message to Marco and didn't want to stop to do so, but also didn't want to run into a wall or a pole. 

 

To: Marco   
From: Milieus  
Hey, you fell asleep last night while we were talking. I hope you got some rest. How was your day?

Sent. 

Milieus patted his pants to make sure that he had his wallet with him and checked the time on his phone. Deciding that he should go buy something to eat, he headed for the dorm cafeteria. 

While Milieus patiently waited for his food and a reply, Marco was passed out on his couch without a care in the world. The blood donation had sucked out a lot out of him (pun totally intended), and the only thing he felt like doing was getting some rest. Once Jean had dropped him off he threw his clothes into the laundry basket and took a quick shower to get rid of the hospital smell. 

Luckily for Marco, he had nothing to worry about considering it was a Friday night and he didn't have anything planned for the weekend. His cheek was pressed into the soft couch as he slept soundly. 

An hour passed by and the only movement from Marco was him momentarily waking up to drag the blanket on the back of the couch on top of him. Even with Jean's large hoodie on, he was only wearing his boxers which meant he was cold. But he was too lazy to get up after laying down and he convinced himself he would be fine. 

Another hour passed by.

And then another. 

There were no signs of Marco waking up anytime soon and he was happily wrapped up in the blanket, curled up like a cat on the couch. 

His phone went off again at the same time the doorbell rang, jolting Marco awake. He made no attempt to move and squinted his eyes at the ceiling.

Marco's body felt heavy and was comfortably warm. He definitely did not want to get up. Who the hell was at his door at 10 at night anyways?

There was pounding on the door and another round of chimes from the doorbell. Moaning in mock pain, he rose slowly and shuffled towards the front door with his blanket still around him. 

He winced at the brightness when he turned the porch lights on and had to rub his eyes to get the sleep out. 

A blushing face and a smile that Marco knew too well came into his vision. 

Jean bit his lip and and gave Marco a small nod. "Hey." 

"Why are you here so late?" Marco was happy, yet grumpy and irritated at being woken up. 

"Well, I was planning to take you somewhere, and I can only take you there at night. So, uh will you do me the pleasure of taking you there?" 

 

"To where?" He questioned. 

Jean smile turned smug, "You'll see when you get there. I can't tell you." 

 

"I'm not going until I know. For all I know, you could be kidnapping me so you can murder me." 

 

"Okay, that's ridiculous. But really, come on, let's go. I have a surprise for you." Jean tugged at the blanket around Marco and motioned towards the car. 

Marco let go of his blanket, revealing his lack of clothes when it fell off of him. He threw the 'look' at Jean and snatched his blanket back. "Give me 10 minutes to get ready." 

Jean raised both hands in surrender. "Jeez fine." 

He followed Marco inside the house and calmly waited on the couch for him. Jean had been planning this for a couple of days and was excited about the little adventure they were about to go on. He had double checked that everything he needed was in the car and had the maps ready to go as well. 

Sleeping bags? Check. Lots of pillows and blankets? Of course. Snacks and plenty of water? Who would be stupid enough to forget. 

On the outside, Jean looked perfectly calm and still as he waited but in reality he wanted to tell Marco to hurry up. After all how long did it take to put on some pants? 

Marco knew he didn't need 10 minutes to put on a pair of sweats but he wanted, no needed time to process what was happening. Between Jean's nice actions and their ever deepening relationship and Milieus's reappearance in his life, Marco was frazzled to say at the least. 

He was ready to turn down Jean's sudden proposition and he should have. Then again, there probably wasn't a sane person who could refuse such a cute offer from a flustered tough looking guy. He looked at the mirror and lightly slapped both cheeks to wipe off the stupid grin on his face. It was wrong of him to hope for more and expect anything to happen - Jean was straight for Christ's sake - but, what if, right? 

Despite harshly scolding himself, he was happy. Just spending time with him was enough for Marco. Although he wished for more, he could deal with it as long as he could stay by his side. 

He closed the door of his room and shouted a 'I'm ready!' to Jean. 

Jean rolled his eyes at Marco when he came downstairs. "God, you take forever to get ready. Let's go already." 

Marco was ushered out the door by Jean and barely had time to lock the door before he was dragged off to the car. 

"Wait, wait. I need my wallet and phone." Marco said as he reached to take the seat belt off. 

Jean stopped Marco by gripping his hand. "You don't. Trust me." 

"Fine. Are you at least going to tell me where we're headed?" Marco huffed. 

Jean laughed and looked at Marco. "Ha. Absolutely not." 

"But why?" He whined. 

"Because it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you!" 

 

Jean briefly looked over the maps, making sure Marco didn't see it and began to drive. 

Marco grumbled for the first 10 minutes of the car ride and was planning to do so for the rest of the ride but when he was informed the trip was longer than Marco probably expected, he quieted down and leaned against the window. If he wasn't going to get any answers he might as well sleep. 

They stopped once at a gas station, but Marco remained asleep and Jean didn't wake him. He checked the maps once more under the shabby yellow light of the gas station and was glad that they were a bit over halfway there. 

 

In total, it took Jean 2 hours to reach the destination. The scenery had changed considerably and for a moment Jean thought about how shocked Marco would be when he woke up and quietly laughed to himself. 

He turned off the headlights, but not before he parked properly. 

Mentally preparing himself for Marco's reactions and the irritation that would follow from being woken up, Jean ran through a hand through his hair. He breathed in and tapped Marco's shoulder, his eye lashes fluttered and he slowly woke up. 

Marco's eyes widened at the sight around him and he turned his head to stare at Jean. 

 

"What the--"


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god. Guys I am so sorry. I will now be updating every week if not more. I've just been really really busy with school work and trying to get into college. Thank you so much for being very very patient. As always, please leave any comments or concerns since they're helpful!

Vibrant hues of blue scattered the sky, splashed with hints of dark violet and orange. The beautiful backdrop painted itself over the night sky, outlining the millions of stars that brightly shined. The amount of stars was staggering and it was nearly impossible to distinguish each individual star. In some places, there was a large cluster of stars, making that part of the sky brighter, while in other parts, the stars were more scattered. The vision was breathtaking in comparison to the meager number of stars that were visible in the city. 

 

A small gasp of air escaped Marco's lips and it was slightly visible in the chilled air around them. His eyes were glued onto the perfect scenery in front of him, while Jean's eyes were glued on his face. A soft and subtle smile parted Marco's lips as he continued to gaze at the vast void of stars, the twinkling reflecting in his own eyes. 

They remained silent as Jean pulled the blankets and pillows out of the back seat and into the bed of his truck as he gently led Marco up and on top of the blankets. Marco was still mesmerized by the view and barely realized that he was being wrapped up in a blanket until he suddenly felt that he was a lot warmer and there was a heavy arm slung over his shoulders. He wasn't sure whether his cheeks were pink from the cold or from how close Jean was, but he prolonged the silence and chose to keep quiet. 

Jean and Marco peacefully sat in the deafening silence, gazing at the stars in almost a childish wonder. It wasn't until nearly 10 minutes after that Jean finally broke the silence. 

"Do you like it?" Jean tentatively asked, holding his breath after he spoke. 

Marco briefly glanced at his face before he playfully tipped his head onto Jean's shoulder. "Yeah. It's really really pretty." He sighed. 

 

Jean had his signature grin on his face upon hearing the response and felt his pulse quicken. "I-I'm glad." He whispered. 

"Thank you, Jean." Marco paused, "I... I think I really needed this." He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and settled in his seat, getting comfortable. 

"Of course. Aren't you glad we're best friends?" He chuckled. 

Marco looked up at him in mock horror and covered his mouth. "We're best friends? Oh god, where did I go wrong!?" He exclaimed. A fit of giggled burst from the two, and their cheeks and stomach began to hurt after a while. 

Marco sighed and patted the arm around him, "Really though, thank you." 

Jean ruffled Marco's hair, " I know. You're welcome." He let go of Marco and stood up. Very ungracefully, he hopped out the bed and disappeared for a moment before reappearing with popcorn, cookies, and water bottles. He placed them next to Marco before returning to the back seat of his car and grabbing the thermos with hot chocolate. He climbed back in the bed of the truck and resumed his position next to Marco. 

"Okay so there's popcorn, cookies, water, and hot chocolate if you want any." Jean offered. 

"Uhh... I'll just have the hot chocolate." Marco accepted the thermos bottle from Jean and carefully opened it, afraid that the hot liquid would spill out. 

For another while they sat in silence, basking in the beautiful view and peacefully atmosphere. Marco was genuinely glad to be so far away from his problems and to be able to spend time alone with Jean. He wasn't sure what he should say and was afraid of ruining the moment as well. He liked the fact that they could sit quietly together and not be awkward about it. 

On the other hand, Jean was itching to talk more to Marco. Contrary to popular belief and the societal stereotype that followed him, he was knowledgable in astronomy. He desperately wanted to tell Marco about the various constellations that could be seen out here in comparison to what they could usually only see. If it was about astronomy, he could practically go on and on for days about it.

Jean felt like he was a dam that was about to burst, whilst Marco sipped on the hot chocolate, absolutely oblivious. A minute passed before Jean's resolve finally broke and he pointed to three stars that lined up. 

"Those three stars make up Orion's Belt. And since they're super bright, you've probably seen them back at home too." He pointed at another set of stars, directing Marco's attention away from the hot chocolate. "And those   
Make up the big and Little Dipper. That's about all that you can see in the city." 

"But that cluster over there makes Pegasus, the flying horse." Jean traced the form in the air to show Marco. "Oh, see the really bright star in Pegasus? It's named Markab, which means 'the saddle'. Pretty cool right?"

 

Marco laughed in surprise. "Wow I didn't know you had such extensive knowledge about stars." He looked up at Jean with a sincere smile. "That's really cool." 

The tips of Jean's ears caught on fire and he coughed, embarrassed. "W-well I mean it's not that cool but thanks." 

 

Marco rested his head on Jean's should and looked up at the night sky and pointed at what possibly looked like a shape. "Is that cluster a constellation?" 

"Yeah, that one is actually Lyra, the harp. See that star right there, Vega, is actually the brightest star so it's the easiest constellation to find." Jean rambled on about the other constellations and Marco intently listened, nodding every now and then. 

Time sped by as they switched from constellation to constellation until Jean had exhausted his knowledge and Marco became sleepy. Their excited voices quieted down to murmurs until all fell silent once again. 

It was now nearly four in the morning; it was time to head back home. Jean very carefully led Marco back into the car, tucking him in a blanket so he could sleep on the way back, and quickly placed the blankets and pillows back into the back seat of the truck. Making sure his headlights were on and they hadn't forgotten anything, Jean began the ride home. 

 

Marco was still deep asleep when Jean reached his house, so Jean took an obligatory 'my-sleeping-friend-and-I' selfie before patting him awake. Waking Marco up and making him walk to and inside the house was an intense struggle and it took a lot longer than it should have. Jean fished the spare key from under the mat and wiggled the door open, leading a half asleep Marco inside and to the couch. 

"Thanks..." Marco murmured softly, burrowing himself in the blanket. 

"I'll swing by later today and we can finish up homework or something together okay?" Jean said as he started to head out the door.

"Mhm... Okay." Was the only reply he received from Marco. Jean was tempted to go hug him but resisted the urge and showed himself out, locking the door behind him. For a few moments, he sat in his car, forehead against the steering wheel and cheeks completely flushed. He was hopelessly and utterly doomed.


End file.
